Smallville: Timeless
by Caitlin-Todd
Summary: Lois Lane and Clark Kent are now happily married, living in Metropolis, going about their lives. But things are about to get a whole lot more strange when they mysteriously disappear off the face of the Earth. Set five years after Season 10. CLOIS.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**SMALLVILLE  
><em>"TIMELESS"<em>**

**A/N: **_So this is my final "Smallville" fan fiction, or at least that's the plan for now. I started writing on this at the end of last year, although the idea for it has been on my mind for about two years. As it usually happens when you start writing, the storyline didn't turn out exactly as I had planned but I'm personally satisfied with it in the end. This story, unlike my others, take place in the future after the ending of Season 10, and is very heavy on the Clois. I have yet to see the last few episodes of "Smallville" due to writing this fan fiction, so I haven't been influenced by the show in any way. This is how I've envisioned the future of Lois Lane and Clark Kent as a couple; hopefully you'll all enjoy reading it. Reviews are of course not mandatory but greatly appreciated! _

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><p><strong>SMALLVILLE<strong>  
><strong>5 Years Ago<strong>

She never was one to get nervous. Not like this anyway. Given, there had been times in her life where she'd lost her cool for a moment or two, but in the end she didn't get nervous. She didn't go into a panic like most others just because something didn't go according to plan. No matter what life threw at her, she stood firmly in her place, always keeping a level head. She was a Lane after all and the Lanes never panicked. But then again weddings weren't exactly their forte.

"Lois, would you stop pacing about? You're making _me_ nervous," Chloe Sullivan sighed, glancing up from her cell phone to see her cousin nervously pacing about the room.

Chloe had spent the past few hours trying her best to calm Lois' nerves, despite knowing that there weren't enough tranquilizers in the world to calm down Lois Lane.

"And you're making _me_ nauseas, so would you _please_ cut it out?" Lucy Lane muttered from across the room, sitting curled up in one of the lounging chairs, keeping busy by sending texts to her friends.

"Luce, if you get even _one_ crinkle on that dress, I swear to God I'll…!" Lois threatened, causing her to immediately stop pacing. Without taking her eyes off of her cell phone, Lucy stretched out her legs to allow the dress to unfold without leaving a single crease.

"There, all good," Lucy mumbled with her eyes fixated on the cell phone in her hands. "Now, how about you do some of those breathing exercises Mrs. Kent showed you?"

Lois opened her mouth to snap back at her sister but Chloe quickly jumped to her feet and put a calming hand on her cousin's tense shoulder.

"I think what Lucy is trying to say," Chloe said, glancing sideways at Lucy for a moment. "Is that you should really try to calm down. Everything is taken care of so how about you take a seat? Just for a minute or two."

Lois inhaled sharply, as if preparing for another rant, but then exhaled slowly. She realized that Chloe was right, as usual, and sauntered over to her lounging chair.

"I'm sorry, Chlo," she said and carefully sat down in the chair, letting out a heavy sigh. "I always thought I would be cool as a cucumber when this day came, especially considering who will be waiting for me at the end of the aisle."

"Sweetie, everyone is allowed to freak out on their big day. It's kind of an unwritten rule," Chloe said with a smile as she got down on her knees in front of Lois.

"I don't remember you freaking out," Lois muttered and tucked away a strand of hair fallen out of place.

"I don't remember much at all from that night so let's just call it even, okay?" Chloe said and reached up to dab Lois' forehead with a handkerchief for the countless time that afternoon.

"You know, sooner or later, I am gonna find out just what happened on this legendary night you've been talking about lately," Lucy blurted out, breaking the peaceful silence.

She'd tucked away her cell phone by now and was for the first time in an hour leaving her seat. Lois watched as her little sister walked over to the beverages, pouring herself a glass of water.

"Curious much?" Lois teased with a mischievous smile on her face. Lucy turned around with the glass in hand, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Can you blame me? When your future brother-in-law turns out to be an actual superhero from another planet moonlighting as a reporter, you start paying a little more attention to what big sis is up to," she said with a dramatic sigh at the end.

"You do know you can't go around using that as a conversation starter, right?" Lois said in the same stern voice she always used to reprimand Lucy.

"Oh, like anyone is actually going to believe me? I'd be buying myself a first class ticket to the crazy house for sure!" Lucy exclaimed with a laugh.

"Nevertheless, promise to keep your mouth shut whenever someone happens to mention superheroes," Lois muttered.

Chloe could understand why Clark had wanted to tell General Lane and Lucy the entire truth about himself since they were going to be family and therefore part of his life, but a part of Chloe didn't fully trust Lucy when it came to keeping secrets even though she'd been so good at it in the past.

"Everything okay in here?"

The three women simultaneously looked over at the doorway where Oliver Queen was standing dressed in a tuxedo with a grin on his face.

"Just peachy," Lois said with a glance in Lucy's direction as she stood up, before looking over at Oliver. "Everything okay out there?"

"Couldn't be better now that your dad is on his way. Should be arriving in a few minutes, so I'll just go ahead and borrow your lovely bridesmaids," Oliver said, gladly extending both his arms for Lucy and Chloe.

"Knock yourself out, Romeo," Lois teased and watched as the three of them exited the room together.

As the door closed behind them, Lois let out a deep breath, allowing for all the tension to leave her body. She walked to the full length mirror and did a quick twirl, making sure that everything was in place. On a day such as this one she so badly her mother by her side, even though she already had so many wonderful people there to celebrate the occasion with her. But a small part of her still wished for her mother to be able to witness it all together with her father.

"Well, today's the day, Lois," she mumbled, staring back at her own reflection in the mirror.

She was a vision dressed in white with wavy curls throughout her hazelnut hair, beautifully draped around her shoulders. The entire outfit with shoes and all was nothing sort of perfection, but what brought a smile to her lips was the knowing of how even more wonderful her life would be after this day.

"And they lived happily ever after."

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><p><strong>~ END OF PROLOGUE ~ <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**~ CHAPTER 2 ~**

**A/N: **_Since the first chapter was technically only a prologue, I thought I should post the official Chapter 1 at the same time so you guys can get a feel for this story quicker. Enjoy! :)_**  
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><p><strong>METROPOLIS<strong>

The morning sun shined through the bedroom curtains and hit her face just right. Considering the late night before she was still sound asleep, hogging the covers as usual, with one hand resting on the nightstand next to the alarm clock in preparation for the snooze button like always. With the sun lighting up her beautiful face, she looked especially serene and Clark Kent almost wished he could freeze that moment in time.

Partly because she was a terrible morning person but mostly because it would mean he could spend the entire day with her instead of flying across the world to help out friends. Which was something Clark always made time for but on some days he'd much rather stay at home with his wife and pretend he was just another regular guy.

The sudden noise of the alarm clock made Lois slap down her hand hard on the snooze button, stretching out in bed with a grunt. Clark watched in silence as she rolled over on her back, turning her head slightly to look up at him with a sleepy smile.

"Hey," she mumbled. "How'd you sleep?"

"Apparently not as good as you," Clark teased and leaned in to kiss her.

"Well, what with work and our nightly activities, can you blame a girl for being exhausted?" Lois said with a mischievous grin, pulling Clark in closer to deepen the kiss.

With their arms around each other, they rolled over in bed, forgetting all about the day's responsibilities and deadlines. That is, until the shrill sound of a phone ringing interrupted them. Lois let out an irritated grunt and reluctantly broke off the kiss, staring down at Clark.

"How come people knows _exactly_ when to interrupt the fun?" she muttered, allowing for the phone to ring once more before she threw the covers aside and got out of bed.

She sauntered out of the bedroom in only her satin negligee, messy hair and all, taking her time to get to the phone. Clark knew he could easily use his super speed to answer the phone but it amused him seeing her getting riled up. He could hear her letting out a heavy sigh before finally picking up the phone to answer it.

"Hello?"

"_Let me guess; I'm calling at a bad time?_"

At the sound of her cousin's voice, Lois couldn't help but smile. It had been months since she'd last seen Chloe and Oliver, what with them living across the world by now, and life in general didn't give the two cousins the time to talk often enough on the phone.

"What gave me away?" Lois asked, pulling a hand through her tangled hair.

"_That low husky voice for one. And given the fact that the two of you are still going at it like a couple of lovesick teenagers_."

"You jealous?" Lois teased.

"_Extremely._"

Lois laughed at Chloe's voice dripping with sarcasm. Even over the phone, thousands of miles away, she still managed to make Lois' day a little more amusing.

"So you thought it fitting to call and interrupt?" Lois asked, beginning to pace around the living room.

The windows displayed a beautiful view of the city that she never got tired of looking at, although she at times found herself missing the Kent farm.

"_I wish! Sadly, it's all about business this time._"

"Alright, just let me get Clark for you," Lois said, feeling a gust of wind behind her the second she'd finished the sentence. She slowly turned around to find Clark standing in front of her, already fully dressed, with a sheepish smile on his face. "And here he is."

Lois handed over the phone to Clark, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before sauntering into the bedroom again. She listened half heartily to his conversation with Chloe while picking out clothes for work, finally settling on a matching set of burgundy pencil skirt and jacket topped off with a white crisp shirt. When she emerged from the bedroom again, fully clothed and heading for the bathroom to fix up her hair, Clark had already hung up the phone.

"Did she call about that thing you told me about last night?" Lois asked while continuing walking towards the bathroom door.

"Yes and no. It seems that I'm needed there sooner than I thought," Clark sighed. Lois stopped dead in her tracks, slowly turned back around facing him.

"So what you're saying is that you're canceling on the family lunch? That you've canceled on twice already," she said in the same stern voice she usually used for Lucy.

Clark sighed once more and Lois instantly rolled her eyes at him out of an old habit. In the years they'd been married Clark had had to cancel on countless of lunches, dinners and festivities when taking on the part as the world's savior.

Which of course Lois didn't have the heart to complain about seeing as how she'd always been his biggest supporter. But at times the selfish part of her didn't feel like sharing Clark with the rest of the world.

When she saw the look of guilt on his face, Lois sighed and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him. She looked him deep in the eyes for a moment of complete silence, a tiny smile soon appearing on her face.

"But who am I to keep a superhero from being super?" she teased and leaned in to kiss him. "After all, it's only lunch. I'm sure Luce and the General don't mind the mere company of little old me."

"You know, sometimes I wonder who the superhero is around here," Clark said in between kisses. Lois grinned up at him, running her fingers through his luscious hair.

"Good thing for you I'm sucker for compliments," she said, giving him a quick kiss on the lips before heading to the bathroom. "But don't you dare miss out on the fund raiser next week because then I won't be so forgiving."

Even though Clark knew she was being dead serious, he couldn't help but smile. Moments like these made him realize once more what an amazing wife he had. That despite everything they'd been through over the years, from the very beginning all the way up to their wedding day, Clark could count on Lois being there whether it was to cheer on the superhero or to pressure the reporter.

Either way, Clark knew he was a better man thanks to having Lois by his side.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," he said in regards of the fund raiser, although he frankly hated those types of social events. But he always went to them because it was important to Lois and _The Daily Planet_.

"Nice to see you're still a lousy liar!" Lois called out from inside the bathroom. "Oh, and give my best to Chlo and Ollie!"

"I will," Clark replied, still with a smile on his face. "I'll be back before dinner, okay?"

Lois put the finishing touches on her makeup, checking herself in the mirror before stepping out of the bathroom into an empty apartment. The jackets on the coat hanger were still dangling from side to side after Clark's abrupt exit. Lois slowly shook her head, sighing loudly as she put her coat on and grabbed her handbag.

"I'm living with the greatest scoop of all time and can't write a damn thing about it!" she muttered to herself, slamming the door shut behind her in frustration.

* * *

><p><strong>BRAZIL<strong>

"That was fast," Chloe said as she opened the front door, finding Clark standing on the other side of it. "Did you fly express?"

"Your jokes never get old," Clark muttered as he stepped into the hallway. Chloe grinned innocently at him as she closed the front door, leading him through the downstairs of the house into the study.

"That's what I keep telling her," Oliver said from behind the mahogany desk, looking up from a pile of papers. "And apparently she takes me seriously."

"This coming from the man who still goes on about the night we got married, as if it gets funnier the hundredth time," Chloe said, walking over to Oliver to plant a kiss on his lips.

"I sincerely hope you're leaving me out of the punch line," Clark said and Oliver grinned mischievously at him.

"Now, where's the fun in that?"

"I see you and Lois have the same definition of 'fun'."

Chloe gave Clark a sympathetic smile, giving Oliver a bump on the shoulder. He loudly cleared his throat, rifling through the papers on the desk. Clark took the moment to glance over at the bookcase behind him, filled with boxes from top to bottom. Every one of them containing information on the extraordinary people that Chloe and Oliver had been helping over the past five years.

"Here we go," Oliver blurted out, handing over the paper to Clark.

"You sure you don't mind doing this?" Chloe asked, feeling guilty for taking time away from Clark that he could be spending with Lois instead. Not that he would ever say it to her face but Chloe could read him like an open book by now.

"I'm sure, Chloe," Clark said, looking up at her from the paper in hand, smiling. At the back of his head, he remembered promising Lois to be back in time for dinner which would be a first this week so far. Although he had finally found a balance between work and marriage, he still wasn't able to spend enough time with Lois on some days.

"It should be pretty routine," Oliver said. "You'll be back before you know it."

"I usually am," Clark said, smiling wryly.

"Give us a call when it's done," Chloe blurted out quickly as she noticed that Clark was getting ready to blur past her.

She just barely managed to finish her sentence before a gust of wind swept by her, blowing her hair out of place for the countless time.

"I _hate_ when he does that!" she muttered, giving Oliver an evil glare across the desk when he started laughing. "Don't you have work to do, _dear_?"

"Technically, yes, but I'll much rather spend time with you," Oliver said, acting oblivious to Chloe's glare. He got up out of his seat and walked over to her, tracing his fingers through her honey blond hair until it fell into place again. Chloe couldn't stop herself from smiling at him, still getting that weak feeling in the knees from his touch.

"As much I would love that, you should really get going," she sighed, leaning up and kissing him. "But I'll be sure to stay up waiting for you."

Oliver grinned and leaned down to kiss her, reluctantly breaking it off to push a button located on his wristwatch. Behind him, the bookcase slowly moved aside to reveal a hidden room filled with bows, arrows and the green suit he'd begun wearing again after such a long time.

"Boys and their toys," Chloe teased with a grin as she exited the study.

* * *

><p><strong>METROPOLIS<br>**

Lois downed her third cup of coffee, throwing the plastic cup in the trash bin over her shoulder without thinking twice. She continued typing away on her computer, a satisfied smile appearing on her lips when she heard the cup landing in the bin.

The morning for the Editor In Chief had started off hectic like any other but with enough caffeine in her to write tomorrow's issue of _The Daily Planet_ by herself, Lois was ready to take on the day's tasks. She'd already made the necessary phone calls regarding the upcoming fund raiser that was being held in the building, all while staying on Tess' good side.

In the five years that had passed since the wedding, things had certainly changed at _The Daily Planet_ in more ways than one. The biggest change however being that Tess Mercer actually gave Lois the biggest promotion she could ever dream of.

Which also sadly meant she spent most her days sifting through the other reporters' articles, approving of the final drafts before sending it all off to the printers. Tess was for the most part pleased with Lois' work and when she wasn't, she made sure Lois heard about it, especially seeing as how they had to keep up appearances.

The sudden knock on her door caused her to immediately stop typing, reluctantly taking her eyes off of the computer screen, leaning back in her chair with a sigh.

"This better be good, Mac!" she called out and seconds later a young man opened the door, stepping into her office with some papers in hand.

"Seeing as how you want regular updates on the juicy stories, I thought you might wanna see this," he said and placed the small stack of papers on her desk.

"You mean to tell me that's all updates from the stories this week?" Lois asked with a surprised look on her face, picking up the pile.

"Well, most of it is about Superman but then again it's kind of hard to find a better story than a full-fledged superhero saving the world."

Lois flipped through the papers, seeing Clark's alternative persona mentioned in almost every one of them. She still hadn't gotten used to the fact that she shared a bedroom with the world's greatest superhero but had to lie about it as if she had something to be ashamed about, making her feel like a dirty mistress at times.

"That's the understatement of the century," she mumbled absentmindedly.

"So, is there anything else I can get ya?" Mac suddenly blurted out, not able to stand the silence in the room.

"An extended vacation would be wonderful," Lois said, still looking through the papers.

When Mac didn't reply, she looked up and realized he was staring back at her in stunned silence with terrified eyes.

"That was a joke, Mac," she deadpanned. "Just because I'm your boss doesn't mean I don't have a sense of humor. Or that I can't crack people up."

Mac remained silent, slightly nodding along to her statement. Lois stared at him, fighting the urge to reach out and slap him upside the head. She'd noticed several times already that people around the bullpen were acting different towards her compared to before her promotion. Although in Mac's case, he was a newbie and terrified of everyone above him.

"Although you could take this note up to Tess," Lois said, just barely able to hide a devious smile as she scrabbled down something in a messy handwriting.

"Tess _Mercer_?" Mac whispered with an absolute terrified look on his face.

"That would be the one," Lois said cheerfully. "And put a rush on it; I want her to have the message in her hands within the next five minutes, okay?"

Mac took the note with a trembling hand and nodded nervously, practically running out of the office. Once the door closed shut behind him, Lois couldn't hold back the laughter any longer. She leaned back and enjoyed a good laugh for a minute or two before getting it out of her system. Tess would for sure not being disturbed by an intern but Lois knew she would take the inside joke with poise in the end.

The two women were in fact quite close friends but still pretended like they disliked each other and only talked about work in front of the other employees in order to keep their private lives very private. Especially considering that Lois' husband was in fact Superman and Tess moonlighting as his sidekick from time to time.

Lois suddenly remembered the time and quickly saved what she'd written so far, closing down the program before jumping out of her seat. She walked over to the door, grabbing her jacket and handbag off the coat hanger and was out the door. Even though Clark had canceled on the lunch didn't mean she could get out of it unless her life depended on it.

* * *

><p>It was already dark outside by the time Lois got home to the apartment from <em>The Daily Planet<em> which was luckily only a ten minute walk away. While she balancing the folders in her arms, she still managed to turn on the light and shut the door before making her way into the living room, dumping the stack of folders on the already cluttered coffee table.

Despite her promotion, Lois hadn't shorted her work load and was the same workaholic as before. She looked down at the coffee table, sighed, and begun clearing out the old newspapers and gossip magazines that had been accumulated over the week.

"I really should cancel that subscription," Lois muttered to herself, walking over to the kitchen.

She rounded the kitchen island before reaching the trash bin, tossing in the newspapers and magazines. Before the lid even closed shut, Lois had already picked up the cordless phone and was looking through the takeout menus stuck to the refrigerator. The married life hadn't improved her cooking skills one bit and since her latest attempt at dinner Clark had taken on the responsibility of being head chef in the household.

This meant that when it was Lois' turn to fix dinner, she simply picked up the phone and ordered in. While deciding on what restaurant to order from, Lois noticed out of the corner of her eye that there was a message on the answering machine. She leaned over and pressed the _Play_ button while still trying to figure what kind of food she was in the mood for, the machine starting to replay the phone message.

"_This is Tess calling for one Lois Lane Kent. Who found it amusing to send the intern to disturb me in my lunch meeting with a very important note. Which read, and I quote; 'Sorry, I was bored.' Now, I'm somewhat flattered our friendship has evolved to the point where you feel comfortable to send these notes during work hours, but in the true spirit of being your boss, I've taken it upon myself to retaliate. So consider yourself warned._"

Lois started snickering almost immediately when hearing Tess' irritable voice over the machine, imaging her making the phone call by her desk at _The Daily Planet_ with an angry facial expression that was only for show. Although Lois knew from experience that Tess would most certainly get even one way or another.

Once the message ended, followed by the beep, Lois resumed her quest for dinner. She finally settled on Chinese, as she did most times, and hit the speed dial for her favorite Chinese restaurant. As usual the phone call only lasted for a few minutes, Lois ordering the same thing she always did for her and Clark before hanging up. She placed the phone back in the charger, glancing up the kitchen clock at the same time which showed that Clark was officially late.

This being despite the fact that Lois had deliberately stayed late at work in order to hopefully arrive home at the same time as him. Whenever he would go on an assignment for Chloe and Oliver it usually didn't take the entire day, depending on the location, but Lois had experienced several nights alone in bed when Clark was away due to natural disasters, hostage situations or other major rescues. She'd made the choice long ago to live without her husband at certain times so that the rest of the world could feel a little safer, which was now easier to achieve since Clark had gotten reinforcements from other superheroes around the world.

Lois suppressed a sigh and instead walked over into the bedroom, kicking off her high heels and getting undressed. She slipped into her favorite sweatpants and put on Clark's old high school sweatshirt, finally gathering her hair into a messy ponytail. Although she was all about fashionable outfits when it came to work and social events, Lois felt the most comfortable in baggy old sweatpants.

When coming out of the bedroom, her eyes caught a glimpse of something strange on the other side of the living room. On each side of the TV were tall bookcases filled with various things, one shelf dedicated to their framed wedding photos. Lois slowly walked over to the bookcase where the photos were displayed, realizing up close that one of the frames were knocked over. She carefully put the photo back in its place, taking a moment to study everyone's smiling faces in the picture for the countless time. Since that day, things had only gotten better just like she had predicted.

Although Chloe and Oliver had moved overseas shortly after the wedding, Lois had come to develop a real friendship with Tess with Chloe being so far away. Lois' relationship with her father and Lucy had also improved a lot more since the wedding. Her father was still active within the military, stationed at various locations across the world, while Lucy had made the surprising decision of actually moving to Metropolis to get a university degree and to also be closer to her sister. Martha had been reelected for the second time, remaining the Senator of Kansas which involved a lot of traveling but she always managed to stop by for a visit when in town.

Lois snapped out of her trip down memory lane when the phone started ringing. She took one last glance at the photo before hurrying into the kitchen, grabbing hold of the phone.

"Hello?"

"_Lo, it's Chloe. Has Clark gotten back yet?_"

"No, he hasn't. You mean he's not with you guys?"

"_I was afraid of that. We haven't heard from him since this morning when he left for the assignment which shouldn't have taken this long. It's always strictly recon._"

Lois started getting a really bad feeling about the whole thing. It wasn't unusual for Clark to be late but he always called to inform Lois if he was going to be gone longer than planned because he knew how worried she would get. Superman was loved by almost the entire world but there were people that wanted to cause him harm, as well as intergalactic villains to look out for these days.

"Chloe, you have to find him," Lois said, just barely able to keep a steady voice. She didn't like appearing weak, not even in front of Chloe, but she had faith in that her cousin would be able to locate Clark one way or another.

"_We're working on it, Lois, don't worry. If he's on planet Earth, we will find him. I'll let you know once we have some news, okay?_"

"I'll be here," Lois said and the call was disconnected.

She slowly put the phone back down, staring absently minded straight at the kitchen wall in front of her. Over the years Clark had had some run-ins with various bad guys that all wanted the same thing; defeat Superman and conquer the world. A few had come very close but in the end Superman had saved the people of Earth, nearly giving his own life in the process.

That was something that Lois could've never predicted even as Clark took on the role of Superman; even the whole evil alien super villains was a mouthful. She'd experienced some pretty weird things back in Smallville but none of them came close to the things the future had had in store for her. These days, even some of her closest friends were superheroes living in secrecy amongst regular people.

Lois' thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she heard something that sounded like footsteps right behind her. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, getting goose bumps at the realization that she wasn't alone in the apartment. And she instinctively knew that it wasn't Clark trying to surprise her. Lois glanced to the side, noticing the kitchen knives on the counter, slowly moving her hand to grab one. She sure as hell wasn't going to stand idly by when some stranger had broken into her own home.

The footsteps sounded as they were getting closer and Lois took a silent breath, quickly getting hold of the biggest knife. She was about to turn around on her heels with the knife in hand, but she didn't even make it halfway around before everything went blurry before her eyes. The knife fell to the floor with a clanging noise, Lois' legs giving out on her as she too also started falling. She managed to turn her head at the last second, seeing a blurry figure in front of her disappearing into the quiet darkness.

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><p><strong>~ TO BE CONTINUED ~ <strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**~ CHAPTER 3 ~**

**A/N: **_I'm glad to see so many of you have taken a liking to this story. Hopefully it will stay that way. Anyway, it's that time of the week; another chapter of "Timeless." Enjoy! :)_**  
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><p><strong>BRAZIL<strong>

Chloe dialed the number for the tenth time, knowing that no one would pick up but couldn't stop trying any way. It had been hours since she'd last talked to Lois and Chloe knew without a doubt that her cousin wouldn't leave the apartment when worrying about Clark. Chloe listened to the dial tone going on and on until she finally slammed the phone down on the table with a frustrated sigh.

"Somethings not right," she muttered to Oliver who was standing at the opposite side of the kitchen table.

He gave her a slight nod, realizing several hours ago that Lois had gone missing just like Clark.

"I made a few calls to some of the guys but I doubt they'll be able to find anything of use," he sighed.

Chloe stared down at the table in silence, going over the whole thing in her head. She couldn't shake the feeling of guilt even if she knew that it was pointless at a time like this. Lois and Clark were amongst the only family she had left in life, and losing either of them would be like losing a part of herself.

"Well, it might be useless, but I'm gonna keep on trying," Chloe said and walked out of kitchen without another word, heading straight for the study.

Oliver knew better than to argue with his wife, especially with what was at risk, and so he followed her to the study. They would both keep trying until they'd exhausted every single option left out there.

* * *

><p><strong>PLANET QDEZTRA<strong>

At first it was only peaceful darkness, soon replaced by a bright light and various hushed sounds that he couldn't make out. Clark slowly managed to open his eyes but all he could see was the ceiling. So he turned his head and noticed an opening on the far side of the room but his vision was still blurry, just as his hearing was unsteady. But from what he could see it sure didn't look like he was still on planet Earth.

He slowly managed to get on his feet, his legs feeling a bit wobbly, but he soon regained his balance. The voices sounded clearer now, as if they were just outside the opening of the room he was being held in. Clark decided to move quietly over to the opening to see what he was dealing with before using any of his superpowers. But he was only halfway there when an elderly man accompanied by two guard entered the room. The young men seemed more suspicious of Clark than the older man, who studied him with a peaceful expression.

"I'm glad to see you've recovered so quickly," he said in a calm voice, as if he was talking to an old friend.

Clark stared at the man, who seemed to be of royal decent, while trying to remember what had happened.

"Where am I?" he finally asked, remaining standing in the same spot. He figured sudden movements in the presence of the armed guards could be a fatal mistake.

"You're on the planet of Qdeztra, Kal-El," the man said with a gentle smile. "And I, King Azerteius, am the one responsible for bringing you here."

Clark knew for a fact that he had never heard of this planet, not even from Jor-El over the years, but by now he wasn't surprised when aliens from other worlds called him by his Kryptonien name. There were more important things he wanted answers to instead.

"Why?" he asked.

"Come," Azerteius said, gesturing for Clark to follow.

They slowly sauntered out of the room with Clark close behind them, anxious to see the planet he'd been taken to. When stepping out of the room, onto a balcony, Clark hardly believed his own two eyes. From the balcony he could see one of the most beautiful sceneries he'd ever seen before in his life; great mountains in the distant surrounded by a luscious green jungle, elegant sandstone structures spreading out across the landscape with a massive waterfall in the distant, connected to the river running through the valley.

Apart from the inhabitants in the village moving about gracefully in their luxurious clothing, Clark saw several colorful and fascinating animals he'd never seen before. Huge birds resembling storks, but much bigger and entirely different colors, flew across the sunny sky with calls that sounded surprisingly beautiful. In the main area of the river Clark caught brief glimpses of fishes in different sizes and colors, blending in gorgeously with the azure water.

"What you see here, Kal-El, is only part of Qdeztra," Azerteius said with a grand gesture out at the surroundings in front of them. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Very," Clark said, turning his attention to the king. "But that can't be why you brought me here."

"No, it isn't. The truth is, we are in desperately need of your help," Azerteius said. "For the past century, we've been in a pointless war with our former allies, and their mission is to destroy Qdeztra. Which I'm afraid they're about to succeed at."

"So you want _me_ to stop them?" Clark asked.

"I heard about the one called Superman from travelers, eventually learning who you really are, Kal-El. I admit bringing you here against your will wasn't the proper way to ask for your help but we're running out of time as we speak."

"If what you're telling me is true, King Azerteius, I'm not sure how I'll able to stop an entire planet on my own."

"It's wise of you to be cautious, Kal-El, but I have proof that what I'm telling you is the truth. And I had your spouse brought here as well to assist you in your mission."

"Wait, what–"

"Clark?"

At the sound of his wife's voice, Clark turned around to see Lois being escorted out onto the balcony by two guards. Judging by her choice of outfit and messy ponytail, Clark came to the conclusion that she had also been taken to Qdeztra quite abruptly.

But no matter what, he was relieved to see what she was alive and well. She ran over to him and they embraced each other, as if they'd been apart for ages.

"You know, if you wanted to get out of dinner, you could've just said so," Lois mumbled.

"I'll remember that next time," Clark said as they unwrapped themselves from each other. Lois smiled up at him for a moment until she noticed the king staring at them.

"So who's your friend?" she asked Clark, giving off a quick nod at the older man.

"I'm King Azerteius of planet Qdeztra," Azerteius said, taking a step forward, coming up alongside Clark and smiling politely at Lois. "As I was telling Kal-El, I'm the one responsible for bringing the two of you to Qdeztra. I sincerely apologize for the circumstances but there wasn't enough time to do it properly."

Lois stared at the king for a moment in silence, trying to decide if he was being serious or messing with her. Then remembering that she was in fact on another planet in her most unflattering clothes and an unglamorous ponytail, she figured that her sarcasm would probably not be appreciated in the same way as it was on Earth.

"I see," she said. "Now, I can understand that you had _Kal-El _brought here, but why me?"

"Kal-El will need the assistance of you, Lois Lane, in order to stop our enemy from destroying Qdeztra," Azerteius explained calmly with a hand gesture at the vibrating town down in the valley below the palace.

Lois could almost feel her jaw drop to the floor when she realized that King Azerteius obviously believed she too was a superhero since she was married to one. Clark couldn't help but have a similar reaction to the statement, although looking less shocked than Lois at the moment. He could tell that the wheels were spinning in her head since she couldn't figure out what to say next, so Clark decided that it was time to a talk with the king.

"I think there are some things you need to know, King Azerteius," Clark said, putting his arm around Lois. "Is there any place we can talk… in private?"

"Certainly, Kal-El," Azerteius said. "Follow me."

* * *

><p>Lois wasn't much for the outdoors but she couldn't deny that the nature on the planet was breathtaking; from the flowers to the animals. The people didn't look any different than ordinary humans back on Earth, but from what she'd heard their genetic build up was still very much different. Everyone on Qdeztra also possessed powers but nothing defensive that could be used in a war, so King Azerteius had sent out his men to bring Clark back to Qdeztra with them.<p>

Something he had been apologizing for profusely since their arrival but naturally Clark didn't hold a grudge. After straightening some things out, like Lois not being a superhero, Clark had decided to help them out because they people of Qdeztra seemed like harmless people stuck in a territory war against their will.

"So, what's the plan?" Lois finally asked, although she wasn't so sure she wanted to know the answer.

She didn't look up at Clark but instead kept her focus on the running waterfall and some birds chasing each other from tree to tree.

"According to King Azerteius the warriors from planet Xeneztra will arrive in three days to announce the destruction of Qdeztra," Clark explained. "I'm hoping to meet with Xeneztra's King Diminstrius to convince him that war isn't the answer, seeing as how no one seems to remember what started the war in the first place."

"Do you really think that a planet of warriors is going to listen to an outsider babbling about world peace? That's a tough one even on _our_ planet!" Lois burst out, self consciously adjusting the white dress she'd changed into.

It just barely touched the ground as she walked, showing off the matching white sandals that were surprisingly comfortable. Some of the king's servants had even untangled her hair, decorating it with beautiful exotic flowers, making her look almost part of the royal family.

"Let's just say it's the only plan I have so far," Clark said. "You'd be surprised at how often people are willing to listen to reason before tearing each other apart."

"Really? Because so far I've only experienced the opposite," Lois said, a sarcastic laughter escaping her.

They continued to walk down the narrow path in silence, both of them studying their surroundings and trying to take everything in. Clark had luckily convinced King Azerteius that they didn't need any escort to get around the area, especially since all of the dangerous animals lived further away in the mountains.

"Not to brag, but I've proven to be a pretty good peacemaker," Clark grinned and Lois glared at him, reaching out to punch him in the side, but he quickly dodged her.

"You're gonna have to do better than that, Lane."

Lois stared at him with her mouth open, a mischievous smile spreading across her lips.

"Oh, you're asking for it, Kent!"

As if on cue, Clark set off running down the path with Lois following closely behind. The long dress smoothly followed her movements without being in the way as she pushed on to try and keep up with Clark. Even though he didn't use his super speed he could still run pretty fast. But Lois was used to training with soldiers in any kind of terrain and weather, so keeping a quick pace in sandals didn't scare her off.

The path lead them all around the waterfall and in amongst some trees, just barely blocking out the sunlight. They could hear some of the birds crying out high above their heads up in the trees and the fading sound of the townspeople's voices as they ran further into the woods. The distance between the two increased until Lois finally had to admit that Clark was faster than her. She ran past the waterfall, rounding the mountain and coming to a full stop when a field of flowers spread out in front of her.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Clark said as he came up alongside Lois.

Streams of sunlight beamed down at the flowers through the trees surrounding the beautiful clearing. The flowers, looking like nothing Lois had ever seen in her life, shifted in numerous different color shades. With a sudden gust of wind, Lois could smell the sweet floral scent and a peaceful smile spread across her face.

"That's an understatement," she mumbled, grabbing Clark's hand and followed the tiny trail that wandered out amongst the field of flowers.

She could see small birds perched up on the branches in the trees, singing softly in the dimmed sunlight. They gently made their way on the trail through the flowers until a rectangular shaped rock appeared in front of them. The flowers were growing around the moss covered rock, creating the perfect place to do some thinking a sunny afternoon or to just admire the stunning surroundings.

"Okay, would it be too much to ask to move here?" Lois grinned as she sat down on the rock with Clark, resting her head against his shoulder with a happy sigh.

"I know I wouldn't mind," Clark said, smiling down at his wife. "But I doubt it would go over well with Chloe, not to mention a certain Kansas State Senator."

"True. So I vote we just elope in the dead of night, never to be heard from again."

Clark started laughing, Lois soon joining in. As the laughter slowly died down, they could hear the birds singing again and the distant rumbling of the waterfall. Being in such a peaceful and beautiful place made Lois feel a calm she hadn't in a long time, but she soon reminded herself why they had been brought to Qdeztra in the first place.

"Hey," she whispered gently, looking up at Clark. "All jokes aside, promise me that you won't doing anything stupid."

Looking down into his wife's hazel eyes, Clark knew that she was being serious. When it came to the people she loved, Lois never joked around. And especially when it came to Superman; she always worried no matter what.

"I promise," he said and leaned down to kiss her.

"You better," she mumbled, wrapping her arms around Clark and pulling him closer.

The kiss quickly deepened and they were soon lost in each other, forgetting all about the surrounding. In that beautiful moment, they were the only two people on the planet.

* * *

><p>Back at the palace, King Azerteius had given the order of preparing a royal feast for his guests to the servants. The enormous table in the dining hall began filling up with all kinds of beloved food and beverages while King Azerteius and his family were getting ready in their chambers.<p>

By the time Lois and Clark had returned to the palace, everything was in place for the luxurious dinner. Lois quickly visited their guest chamber to freshen up before dinner, especially since her hair was a complete mess again. She removed some of the flowers that were already withered and straightened out most of her hair by running her fingers through it. Once she returned to the dining hall and took her seat next to Clark at the grand table, King Azerteius were ready to give a speech in honor of their guests.

"We have been given the great honor and privilege of a true hero to help us in the war against Xeneztra," he said, raising his glass.

The other guests, consisting of the royal family and their most valuable servants, raised their glasses as well and turned to look straight at Lois and Clark.

"No matter the outcome I have confidence that Kal-El's solution will improve the future for everyone on Qdeztra," Azerteius continued and said something in a foreign tongue, followed by a round of applause from everyone else at the table.

"Does this happen to you often?" Lois whispered to Clark as she leaned in closer, observing the others downing their beverages.

"Once or twice," Clark whispered back, shrugging slightly.

Lois sighed quietly before returning to her previous position, picking up her own glass to get a whiff of the beverage. It had a similar smell to wine, which Lois had never taken to, but she decided to give it a try so that King Azerteius wouldn't be offended. The red liquid was smooth and tasted fruity without any apparent trace of alcohol, at least not the kind that Lois was used to. Without a second thought she happily emptied the rest of the glass.

"So, Kal-El," Azerteius called out from across the table. "Tell us about this planet Earth that you reside on."

"It's not that much different than Qdeztra actually, apart from the people living there. Not everyone there has powers such as yours but that doesn't make them any less extraordinary," Clark said, looking to Lois when finishing the sentence.

She suddenly became very self-conscious when she realized everyone at the table was staring at her in silence, seeming more curious of her than anything else.

"On Qdeztra, everyone is born with these powers as part of their genetics, but that doesn't mean that we are all as extraordinary as some others," Azerteius explained.

"What is it like not to have any powers, Lois Lane?"

Lois looked over at the young woman seated on the side of King Azerteius, dressed in a royal gown with a modest tiara on her head, who had asked the question. Lois remembered the woman from earlier when she was presented as King Azerteius' daughter, Princess Azandria, the future heir of Qdeztra.

"Well, it feels pretty natural, as I imagine having powers feels like for you," Lois said, tasting a bite of food before continuing. "What kind of powers is it that you have?"

"The Qdeztraians have all empathic powers," Azandria answered. "We can sense others' emotional state and determine the heart's desire. Some can even heal both bodily and mental damage if needed."

"Now that's impressive!" Lois said, smiling nervously at Azandria, feeling even more self-conscious than before.

Being stuck in a room filled with Empaths who could easily sense her every emotion was definitely not on Lois' bucket list.

"There's no need to worry, Lois Lane, we never use our powers on outsiders without their permission," Azandria said with a gentle smile, noticing how uncomfortable Lois had become without having to use her powers.

"Oh, well that's a relief," Lois said, still with a somewhat nervous smile.

"Is there anything else on your mind, Lois Lane?" Azandria asked.

"Please, just call me Lois."

"As you wish… _Lois_."

"Actually, there a few things I'm curious about."

"And we'll gladly answer your questions, Lois," Azerteius interrupted. "But first, let's eat. I imagine you two must be quite hungry by now and there's no need to rush. The day is still young."

Princess Azandria nodded along, smiling over at Lois before returning to her meal. The others did the same, obeying King Azerteius without a second thought. Lois and Clark exchanged glances before starting to finish off the food on their plates.

* * *

><p>After the dinner was finished, Princess Azandria invited Lois to her royal chambers for some conversation while King Azerteius wished to speak some more with Clark about the upcoming mission. Lois didn't care to sit in on their conversation and spend more time with King Azerteius than she needed. Princess Azandria, on the other hand, was someone Lois felt drawn to instead. The young woman reminded Lois of Lucy, although Azandria was definitely better behaved than her sister.<p>

"So, Azandria," Lois said as she came face to face with the princess. "God, I don't even know where to begin! There's about a _million_ questions I wanna ask you!"

"Father told me you're someone with many questions for everything," Azandria smiled. "Here on Qdeztra we accept things as they are, good or bad, without questioning it."

"My father wasn't too keen on having a daughter that always questioned everything he did or said, but I've learned over the years that without asking questions how can you know if something is good or bad?"

"Very well," Azandria said. "Ask your questions and determine if my answers are to your satisfaction."

Lois adjusted her seat on the bench carved out of stone, which was admittedly not the most comfortable place to sit, regretting that she hadn't had the chance to bring along her pen and notepad. Despite not being able to print an article about an alien planet even in Metropolis, it would've have been nice to have notes from their visit to ensure herself that the whole thing wasn't some elaborate dream.

"Okay, so let's see," Lois begun, grasping at the first question that popped into her head. "How old are you? I mean, you look pretty young compared to someone on Earth, but considering the sense of time here on Qdeztra, how old are you?"

"I'm twenty years by now."

"Right, so… not that different from Earth as I thought."

"Perhaps we're not as different as it would seem?"

"Perhaps. But what's it like being a princess?"

"It's the only life I've ever known. My father inherited his title from my grandfather, same as I will do one day when I'm at the rightful age according to Qdeztraian laws."

"But don't you ever imagine a life outside of the palace? Or a life on some other planet?"

"Some of my best friends are common villagers, but I've never felt a desire to live outside the palace and certainly not outside of Qdeztra. Father has told me stories of horrible things occurring out in the universe."

Lois could tell that Azandria was wise beyond her years, but a part of her felt sorry for the young princess. Azandria's entire life had been determined by several generations before her, consisting of rules and laws that made it clear that Azandria was suppose to live her life just as the people before her had.

"Not everything out there is horrible," Lois said. "I mean, there are some bad people back on Earth that the world would be a better place without, but I'd like to think the good evens out the bad. Before Clark came along I was so sure that good guys didn't exist, but that goes to show how mistaken you can be about certain things."

"Qdeztra was once an even more beautiful planet, back before the war started. Back then, the people thought only goodness existed outside of Qdeztra, which is why when Xeneztra declared war upon us we still believed them to be our allies. Even when their army attacked in the middle of the night, killing countless of innocent women and children, my great grandfather didn't believe they were our enemies."

"But you don't think that anymore?"

"My grandfather never waged an attack in his life, no matter how often the Xeneztra soldiers were sent here to destroy Qdeztra. Their people has never possessed any powers, so therefore Grandfather decided to use his abilities to remove the hatred of the soldiers. But that didn't stop other soldiers from attacking us and eventually Grandfather knew he had no other choice than to start an army of his own. Father has told me the story of the great battle between Qdeztra and Xeneztra that caused a rift between the two planets, driving them so far apart that the Xeneztrian army didn't attack for many years."

"So having an army doesn't change your belief in world peace?"

"No, it doesn't. It's something we're all born with, whether some train to be soldiers or not. Father believes in protecting his people even with violence but if Kal-El can make the Xeneztrians realize that peace is the solution, it could save thousands of lives on both sides. I hope for an alliance between the two planets by the time I inherit the throne."

"Well, I hate to brag, but Clark is pretty good at what he does," Lois smiled.

"Yes, that's what I've heard," Azandria said and nodded with a relieved smile. "Now, I have a question for you, Lois… if you don't mind?"

"Oh, I don't mind at all, depending on what the question is."

"I can assure you it's nothing of a personal nature."

"Good, because I'm allergic to those."

Azandria gave Lois another confused look, yet again not quite getting the punch line in the Earth woman's jokes. Lois smiled at the princess; slowly shaking her head and gesturing for Azandria go ahead and ask the question.

"What is Earth like compared to Qdeztra? I know Kal-El spoke about it with Father but I wish to know more about the planet that you call home."

Lois tipped her head to the side, a smile on her face growing wider when she realized that she'd been able to spark an interest in Azandria after all. Even though she seemed to have the perfect life on Qdeztra, one meeting with Lois got her to be curious on what else was out there in the universe.

"Gosh, I don't even know where to start," Lois said with faux modesty. "I mean, I've never had to explain Earth to anyone before, but I'll do my best."

* * *

><p>Watching Lois talk about her conversation with Azandria with such excitement put a smile on Clark's face, as it usually did when he got to see her worked up about something. It was becoming clear that Lois had struck up a friendship with Azandria despite the cultural differences and Clark could see the reporter in Lois shining through.<p>

"I mean, can you imagine a member of a royal family back on Earth being so open in an interview? God, I would _so_ get the Pulitzer for that!"

"Don't you think the one you have is enough?"

"Well, I only planned on winning one, but two ain't half bad!"

Clark reached out and grabbed hold of Lois' hand, pulling her close, making her lose track of her thoughts. She slowly walked over to the bed where he was seated, a mischievous smile spreading across her face as she came to a stop in front of him.

"Why, Mr. Kent, I do believe you're trying to seduce me," she whispered.

"Whatever gave you that idea, Ms. Lane?"

"Good thing for you I'm a sucker for farm boys turned superheroes."

"Good thing for you I'm a sucker for beautiful women."

Lois swatted Clark on the arm with her free hand, however unable to hold back a smile since she knew he was only messing with her. Something he'd gotten better at in the past few years much thanks to Lois herself.

"Watch it! Just because you have superpowers doesn't mean I can't kick your ass!" she said and tried glaring at him but couldn't manage to keep a straight face, soon bursting into laughter instead.

"Oh, I'm well aware of that," Clark and pulled Lois down into his lap, gently kissing her.

"Okay, so it's not that I'm against a make out session but what if the king walks in on us or something?" Lois asked, pulling away from the kiss much to Clark's dismay.

"Since when has that ever stopped you? I seem to recall a certain Tess Mercer catching us red handed in your office just last week, which by the way, I'm pretty sure she's tired of doing," he teased and Lois rolled her eyes at him.

"That's completely different! Despite what you might think, Tess understands all about a woman's urges, even if they occur at the work place."

"Be that as it may, don't you think you're being a little paranoid? Azerteius isn't the kind to sneak around the guest quarters spying on people. And if he were, I would pick up on it before he even got anywhere near our door, right?"

"Hey, being paranoid is all about being a good reporter!" Lois exclaimed and practically bounced out of Clark's lap before he could stop her. "And I were paranoid, which I'm _not_, I'd worry about whether or not your powers actually works on Qdeztra."

As soon as the words had left her mouth, Lois realized she'd actually been worrying about it since their arrival. All she really knew was that Clark drew his power from the yellow sun of Earth and not Kryptonite like the other Kryptoniens they'd encountered.

"The thought did cross my mind when I first woke up," Clark said as he stood up, walking over to Lois until their face were inches apart. "But I'm pretty sure they're still working."

"_Pretty sure_? Clark, you're going up against alien soldiers _alone_! Your powers better work or we're catching the first train outta here!" Lois exclaimed in panic.

"Bad choice of words," Clark added calmly with an amused smile. "Let's just say I can _feel_ their presence so they _will_ work or we're outta here."

"For your sake I sure hope so, because I have no intention of becoming a widow," Lois muttered and glared up at him, to which he responded with a gentle kiss on the lips.

"And I have no intention of ever leaving you," Clark murmured as they stared into each other's eyes and Lois managed a smile.

"Just as I have no intention of ever letting you go," she said.

* * *

><p><strong>~ TO BE CONTINUED ~ <strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**~ CHAPTER 4 ~ **

* * *

><p>The following day consisted of a tour around the town below the palace for Lois while Clark was stuck with King Azerteius to plan the coming attack. Something that Lois tried her best to put out of her mind, relying on that Clark knew what he was doing by now. Instead she decided to enjoy Azandria's company since she had volunteered to show Lois around Qdeztra.<p>

Once they'd made their way from the palace into town on foot, Lois realized that the people of Qdeztra had certainly been blessed with a good gene pool since they all looked like models. And on top of that, they were all extremely friendly and polite, making Lois slightly at unease.

"So what's with the different colors?" she asked Azandria after noticing a difference between some of the townspeople's clothes.

They all had the basic sandals matched with dresses for the women and robes for the men but without the golden details that only applied to the royal family and also Lois since she was their honor guest.

"The colors show what social status you have. There's a diversity of people on Qdeztra; soldiers, peasants, travelers, workers and the royal servants," Azandria explained calmly as they sauntered through the town.

The buildings up close looked to be the size of the palace and almost as glamorous in Lois' opinion, apart from small difference in design.

"But doesn't it ever cause problems or arguments when everyone isn't equal?"

"The color of your clothes shows your profession but it doesn't define the person. Everyone on Qdeztra is equal in body, mind and spirit. Even though I'm royal, I don't think less of a peasant."

"But a peasant looks up to you, right? I mean, you're the future leader of Qdeztra after all, so the people must pledge their loyalty to you."

"Yes, but that's because they know in their hearts that I'll do what's best for them. They're not just my people, Lois, they're all part of my family. When one of them is hurting, I hurt as well."

"Oh right, because of your empathic powers."

"Exactly. You don't have anything like that back on Earth?"

Lois was about to burst into laughter, believing Azandria was being sarcastic, but seeing the serious look on the princess' face made Lois suppress the laugh at the last minute.

"I wish! We could definitely use it considering some of the people wouldn't know empathy even if it bit them in the a–"

Lois suddenly cleared her throat, stopping in mid-sentence, realizing that Azandria wouldn't understand her sense of humor.

"But there are empathic people on Earth," Azandria said with a smile. "You and Kal-El are some of them."

"Thanks," Lois smiled, nearly blushing at the compliment. "But we've got nothing on you guys. Earth could certainly learn a thing or two about empathy from Qdeztra."

"True, but unfortunately empathy can't be taught to someone who isn't open to it," Azandria said as they left the town behind them and headed in the opposite of the waterfall, an amazing green field spreading out before them with a winding road in the middle of it.

Lois stopped for a moment and took it all in; the stunning scenery unlike anything she'd ever seen before. Even the air smelled different; she swore she could pick up hints of a floral scent when a gust of wind blew past.

"God, I should've brought my camera!" she blurted out in excitement, oblivious to the confused look on Azandria's face that was becoming more frequent.

"This road leads to my favorite place in all of Qdeztra," Azandria said, disregarding Lois' comment, and took a few steps forward before turning back around facing Lois. "It's quite a long walk but I just know you'll like it."

Lois simply smiled at the princess and fell into place beside her as they made their way down the dusty road, the sun shining down upon them. As if the view wasn't impressive enough, Lois spotted more Qdeztraian animals out in the field moving about; some were the size of elephants moving slowly through the field while feeding on the grass while others were more heard rather than seen.

"Do you have any dangerous animals on Qdeztra?" Lois blurted out as she noticed sudden movements out in the field, followed by a shrieking sound.

"There's no need to worry, Lois, all the animals live in harmony with the people. Because of our powers we're able to communicate with them and therefore avoid attacks. In my lifetime there's been very few accidents involving animals and none of them have been lethal," Azandria explained calmly, looking in the same direction as Lois. "That sound you're hearing is simply a Wuzetria communicating with its pack."

"A what now?"

"That's their name. They're quite small so we can't see them from here unlike the Daeztrinz."

Azandria gestured towards the elephant sized animals that reminded Lois of giant Capybaras at first sight but with a different anatomy and color of the fur. They were practically moving in slow motion compared to the seemingly invisible Wuzetrias that was running around all over the place.

"You have names for all your animal life on Qdeztra?" Lois asked, not able to take her eyes off of the Daeztrinz with their mouths full of grass.

"We don't name the animals; they have named themselves. Back when Qdeztra was still a young planet, the animals communicated with the inhabitants and relayed their names amongst other things. It's because the Qdeztraians of that time documented the information that we're able to know the animals' names, although we still communicate with them frequently as we would do with another Qdeztraian," Azandria explained.

"Wow," Lois said as they continued to move down the road, soon leaving the Daeztrinz behind.

The more Lois saw of Qdeztra, the more she envied the Qdeztraians for living on such an amazing planet and the desire of wanting to stay grew stronger.

* * *

><p>Being a superhero did have its downside at times, although Clark couldn't imagine turning his back on all the people that needed him and the others. But truth be told his marriage had been placed second more than he'd like to admit even though Lois took it all in strides.<p>

Not to mention how well she was coping with being on an alien planet with her husband about to stand up to an entire planet of warriors in just two days. Things like that made Clark sometimes wonder what he'd done to deserve such a woman like Lois to share his life with.

"Kal-El?"

King Azerteius' voice brought Clark back to reality again.

"Yes?"

"Do you agree with our plan for when the Xeneztrian army arrives?"

"Well, even though I've never met them before I'll do my best to talk reason with them. I doubt another war is what either of your planets needs at this point."

"True, but the past has taught us that the Xeneztrians will not make peace with us unless we're all exterminated."

King Azerteius turned and walked across the room over to his group of advisers being seated at the round table, his seat in the middle temporarily empty. Clark remained standing at the other end of the room by the window, consisting of an ill placed square hole in the stone wall.

He had been debating with King Azerteius and his advisers for a while now; all of them hoping for a peaceful outcome in the upcoming battle. But considering the cruelty of the Xeneztrians in the past, King Azerteius was still a bit skeptic that Clark would be able to avoid any bloodshed although that had been the reason why he had brought Clark to Qdeztra.

Losing nearly half of the planet's population during his reign was taking its toll on him and his army, although well trained, was nothing compared to the Xeneztrian army. The Qdeztraians still maintained peaceful and only defended themselves whenever the enemy attacked their home, never launching a preemptive attack on the Xeneztrians planet.

Clark half listened to the murmurs from across the room, taking the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery once more. Somewhere out there Lois got to experience Qdeztra first hand together with Princess Azandria and a part of Clark envied her, although he quickly dismissed the feeling considering the circumstances.

Instead he decided to enjoy the view of a landscape he might never see again. He looked up at the sun in the sky, getting lost in his thoughts before noticing that something wasn't right.

The otherwise clear blue sky was slowly invaded by what looked like missiles, reminding Clark of the meteor shower in Smallville nearly ten years earlier. He was almost mesmerized by watching the missiles descending towards the village, palace and the surrounding areas with people unaware of what was about to take place.

* * *

><p>"This place is amazing!" Lois exclaimed, her eyes the size of saucers at the view spreading out below them.<p>

"I know," Azandria said with an amused smile at Lois' reaction. "Mother used to take me up here when I was little, and ever since then it's been my favorite place."

They were sitting on top of a boulder with the clear ocean below, seemingly reaching all the way to the horizon from where Lois sat. Behind them was a forest filled with magnificent trees as well as other greenery that Lois had never seen before.

It had indeed been a good walk from the village out to the boulder, perfectly hidden in an area that few people knew existed behind all the trees. Which meant it was the ideal place for someone who needed to be alone and clear their head.

"I can see why," Lois said, the excitement gone from her face at the mention of Azandria's mother. "How long has it been since she…?"

"Ten years. She was killed during a Xeneztrian attack," Azandria said. "Father hasn't been the same since."

"Look, for what's it worth, I know how you must feel," Lois said. "I lost my mom when I was little and a part of my dad died along with her that day."

The two women looked at each other in silence and Lois realized that they weren't so different after all, despite being from different galaxies.

A loud shrieking sound snapped Lois out of her daze and she instinctively looked around, noticing a multicolored blur coming their way fast. Before she had time to react any further, a small furry animal was sitting on Azandria's shoulder and giving out the same shrieking sound that Lois had heard when they were passing through the field earlier.

"There's no need to worry," Azandria said as the animal stroked itself against her face. "This is a Wuzetria. They have a tendency of showing up quite unexpected because of their rapid speed, although you usually hear them from afar."

Being up close to a Wuzetria, Lois thought it reminded her of a Chinchilla with multicolored fur and bigger body. It was a very cute animal but the shrieking was something that you'd expect from a Daeztrinz instead.

"I'd say," Lois said. "Are they usually this friendly with people?"

"All known animals on Qdeztra enjoy interacting with people," Azandria said. "If you like, just hold out your hand and she'll let you know if she trusts you or not."

Lois had never been much of animal person and therefore never had any pets, apart from Shelby which had belonged to the Kent's. But there was something about the Wuzetria that intrigued her and so she slowly reached out her hand towards the animal.

The Wuzetria stopped cuddling Azandria and instead sniffed Lois' hand, its tail flipping from side to side when it picked up the new scent of the outsider.

"I think she likes you," Azandria whispered with a smile as the Wuzetria continued sniffing Lois' hand, before suddenly giving out a heart wrenching cry and disappearing into the forest within seconds.

"Or maybe not," Lois sighed and shrugged. "I've never been very popular in the animal kingdom."

Azandria remained silent for the moment, listening to the continued cries of a Wuzetria pack alerting the other animals in the forest. She then turned her head out towards the ocean and looked up at the sky, realizing what it was that the Wuzetria had sensed.

"Azandria, what's wro–"

Lois looked up at the sky as well, seeing it being invaded by falling missiles followed by an army of spaceships that were too many to count. She felt a shiver down her spine and instantly thought of Clark back at the palace.

"They lied," Azandria murmured. "We were supposed to have two more days but they must've found out about Kal-El."

"Azandria, we're sitting ducks out here!" Lois cried out, grabbing hold of Azandria's arm. "We gotta get back to the palace!"

Lois quickly got to her feet, managing to drag Azandria along with her before they made their way down from the boulder. As soon as they were on the ground again they started running through the forest, momentarily thrown off track as a missile struck the boulder with a mighty explosion. Lois glanced back over her shoulder to see it being blown to pieces, leaving behind a crater in the ground.

She turned back around and picked up her pace, remembering all that military training her father had forced on her, never being more grateful for it than this moment. Azandria was keeping a steady pace in front of her, smoothly avoiding all the roots and stones sticking up out of the ground, but that was about to become the least of their problem.

They were running down the path back towards the field, nearly out of the woods when Lois felt the ground shaking beneath her feet. There were another missile impact not far behind them but the vibrations in the ground were something else; something coming their way fast.

Lois didn't notice Azandria slowing down so she told herself that she was only imaging things considering what was happening around them. But the moment they got out of the woods and entered the field, Lois saw a stampede of all the animals headed right for them with missiles ranging down from behind.

"_Azandria_!" Lois screamed when she realized that Azandria were headed further out into the field, oblivious to the stampede.

Without a second thought, Lois set off after the princess and managed to grab hold of her, only to have them both tumble to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Lois shouted to Azandria to overpower the chaos around them.

Azandria quickly nodded with a panic struck expression on her face now that she had become aware of the stampede closing in fast on them.

"Good, because we gotta get a move on unless you wanna get flattened!" Lois shouted and Azandria nodded once more.

They helped each other on their feet, staring back at the impending stampede for a brief second before running back to where they came from. Lois made sure Azandria was in front of her again, feeling somehow responsible for the young woman at this point. As the stampede closed in on them, the ground shook so much that it was hard for them to stay on their feet while running.

Their legs were feeling wobbly after so much running and their lungs were burning, but Lois knew that if they gave up now it was all over with. Just as she was about to take cover amongst the trees she caught a glimpse of another missile impact, the shock way of the explosion sending her flying back into the field. She could make out the sky, filled with dark smoke from the missiles, right before she hit the ground and everything went black.

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><p><strong>~ TO BE CONTINUED ~ <strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**~ CHAPTER 5 ~**

* * *

><p>His first thought was to try and locate Lois before the missiles hit, but there hadn't been time for it. Even though he wanted nothing more than to ensure her safety, Clark super sped out of the palace to save as many as possible from the village.<p>

Some of them were already heading for the palace to seek cover but the attack had still claimed its first victims in a matter of seconds. Clark decided to focus on getting the people out of harm's way before taking on the missiles, combining his super strength and super speed to get people inside the palace.

From what he'd been told, the palace was enforced with special metals that managed to withstand damage from the Xeneztrians firepower after centuries of battle. Which meant it was the perfect place to house all the people from the village during the attacks, although this time the Xeneztrians hadn't kept their word so the Qdeztraians' planned evacuation was unable to take place prior to the attack.

Within minutes nearly half of the village was safely inside the palace being cared by Azerteius' servants, but Clark's work was far from done. Although not being a big planet in size nor inhabitants, the rest of Qdeztra needed his help just as much. So as soon he'd made sure all the people from the village were inside the palace, Clark shot off into the sky and took out some of the missiles on his way across Qdeztra.

As he made his way from above, scanning the land for people in need, he came to the conclusion that the worse damage had occurred in the valley where the palace was located. The roads winding across the planet were mostly empty aside from the occasional herd of animals that somehow managed to escape the missiles unharmed so Clark focused on rescuing the people first.

While he covered more of the planet's surface, he began to realize that it consisted of more landscape than inhabitants after countless of Xeneztrian attacks in the past. There were a few settlements scattered across the planet but it looked like Qdeztra had lost more than half of its people over the years and yet the Xeneztrians kept raging a meaningless war on them.

Clark suppressed his frustration over the situation for the time being and continued evacuating the Qdeztraians over to the royal palace at a rapid speed while dodging missiles. When he had covered the entire planet and rescued every Qdeztraian, Clark wanted nothing more than to find Lois and Azandria to bring them back to the palace, especially since King Azerteius were just as worried for his only daughter as Clark was for Lois.

But just as he thought the worse was behind them, he noticed what he assumed was Xeneztrian space ships entering Qdeztraians atmosphere. King Azerteius had certainly not exaggerated when he'd spoke of the Xeneztrian army; the ships were too many to count and they seemed to be over clouding the sky.

Clark remained hovering in the sky just above the royal palace, staring back at the army of ships heading his way while trying to think of what to do next. He'd been in dire situations before, both on and off Earth, and some had ended with a not so peaceful outcome even though Clark always tried to make peace before taking to violence.

This time he was standing up to an entire planet's army, hell bent on destroying their enemies, which made it almost impossible to appeal to their common sense. For Clark to be able to have a conversation with King Diminstrius at this point it would have to take a miracle.

Although the missile fire had ceased, Clark had a feeling the worst was yet to come. The ships kept approaching the valley at a seemingly slow pace and Clark took a moment to look out over the damages caused to Qdeztra.

Buildings were demolished, animals were roaming the land in search for cover from the fires caused by the missiles and Clark could see dark clouds of smoke rising higher into the sky from the ground.

From where he was hovering the better part of Qdeztra looked a lot like Smallville had after the second meteor shower and Clark decided that he wasn't going to let the Xeneztrians eradicate an entire planet.

He looked up at the army of ships, pulling to a stop in mid air. Clark could sense that something was coming and he zoned out all the other noises around him, focusing entirely on the ships. Within minutes, he heard the distinct sound of something being released from the lead ship and in the next moment a missile shot through the sky aimed directly at him.

Without missing a beat, Clark instantly took off towards the missile at full speed and reached it within a matter of seconds. As he grabbed hold of it he contemplated his next move briefly before spinning the missile around, throwing it back at the lead ship at lightning speed.

* * *

><p>The first thing she became aware of was the smell of smoke before her eyes fluttered open, staring up at the sky. Her mind drew a blank at where she was but then she smelled grass all around her and that was all it took for her to remember.<p>

In the same moment she realized that Azandria was sitting by her side in the grass, smiling down at her through a sooty face.

"I'm glad to see you've recovered," she said, calmly as ever despite what had happened earlier.

Lois managed to sit up in the grass, looking around at the trampled field.

"Not to seem ungrateful but how come I'm not crushed by all those animals? Considering that missile's impeccable timing, I should've been turned into mush!" she said and realized that apart from missing a sandal, there wasn't a single bruise on her body.

She also came to realize that she didn't feel any pain at all either.

"You almost were, Lois," Azandria said, her relieved smile slowly fading. "I managed to communicate with some of the animals to take a different route before I lost consciousness. But the damages to your body were still severe by the time I got to you although luckily I was able to heal them before it was too late."

Lois stared back at Azandria in stunned silence for a moment, taking it all in. If it hadn't been for Azandria having the power to heal, she would've been dead. And not being able to ever see any of her family again; without even knowing if Clark was alright after the attack.

The mere thought was almost too much handle in that moment.

"Thank you," Lois murmured, still somewhat in shock.

"There's no need to thank me. I did what I had to do," Azandria said, smiling again. "When it became clear to me that you and Kal-El were each other's soul mate, I knew I couldn't let you die before your destiny has been fulfilled."

Lois snapped out of her shocked state and gave Azandria a confused stare.

"How do you–"

"When a Qdeztraian heals someone, we can sense their heart's true desire. But when I healed you, I sensed something even greater that showed me how important it was for me to save you. According to Father it happens rarely and in my case it's because I inherited Mother's healing power," Azandria explained, removing some of the soot from her face.

As she did this, Lois noticed that she had some cuts and bruises scattered across her body. The royal robe was no longer white but instead discolored with dirt and blood stains. Her beautiful honey blond hair now had outlines of soot in it apart from being tangled into a complete mess.

"Azandria, are you alright?" Lois blurted out with a panicked voice.

"It's not as serious as it looks, Lois," Azandria said, her face now almost soot free. "Once I get cleaned up you'll hardly notice it."

"You sure?" Lois asked as she stood up, pulling Azandria to her feet moments later.

"There's no need to–"

"Worry, I know. You keep saying that but where I come from we tend to worry… _a lot_!"

Azandria smiled softly at Lois before suddenly noticing a great black cloud of smoke farther away in the sky, most likely over at the palace.

"Lois, we need to get back to the palace," she said, the panic rising in her voice. "My people need me and Kal-El will need you."

Lois was about to turn around to look at whatever Azandria was seeing when she herself noticed something at the end of the field in the opposite direction. She was no expert in alien technology but what she was seeing looked a whole lot like a space ship.

From what she could tell no one had exited the ship yet but she got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach when thinking about what could happen to them if they stuck around much longer.

"Azandria," Lois said slowly, keeping her eyes fixated on the ship while turning Azandria around to face in the same direction as she did. "Is that ship–"

"Xeneztrian," Azandria gasped, the look of panic on her face becoming more obvious.

"I was afraid of that," Lois said and turned to face Azandria, staring her straight in the eye. "Look, we seriously need to get the hell outta here before any of those Xen–"

Before Lois could even finish her sentence, the ship's door opened up with a loud bang. Azandria and Lois simultaneously looked over at the Xeneztrian soldiers standing in the opening, beginning to make their way down a ramp folding out beneath their feet.

"And this would be the part where we run for our lives!" Lois exclaimed and grabbed hold of Azandria's hand as the two women set off running in the opposite direction across the flattened field.

Lois knew that if the Xeneztrians were to open fire on them at that moment they would be dead in seconds and she certainly wasn't going to be responsible for Azandria's death.

She quickly glanced back over her shoulder to see a group of four soldiers beginning to run after them, practically covered from head to toe in weapons, but for some reason not opening fire just yet. Without thinking twice about it, Lois put Azandria in front of her and in that instant she became a living shield for the princess.

But Lois didn't take the time to really contemplate her decision and instead focused on getting clear of the Xeneztrians' line of fire as soon as possible. She looked to her left at the woods, figuring that their best chance of getting back to the palace in one piece would be to go through there.

"Azandria, we need to try and loose them in the woods," Lois said in between breaths, feeling the blood pounding in her ears.

Azandria simply gave a quick nod without looking back and they took a sharp left, picking up their pace until they were inside the darkened woods. Lois could hear the distant sounds of the Xeneztrians following them into the woods but she hoped that with Azandria's knowledge of the area the Xeneztrian soldiers would lose track of them soon enough. Lois didn't dare to think about what would happen if the soldiers caught up with them.

* * *

><p>After the missile made impact with the ship, Clark was taken aback by the forceful explosion followed by the shock way. He watched as the explosion caused damage to the other ships by extension, filling the air with more black smoke. Clark knew he didn't have time to wait for the other ships to regain their sight and start firing off more missiles, so he decided to try a different approach. While still hidden from the ships by the smoke, Clark started spinning around in the air faster and faster until it looked like a tornado had originated from nowhere.<p>

He'd used this method a few times before in similar situations but never against something as massive as the Xeneztrian army of ships. They weren't just many in numbers; the ships themselves weren't exactly light as feathers. But Clark figured it was a worth try at least, keeping in mind that he'd might have to try several other tactics if this should fail. Once he'd built up enough force in the tornado, he prepared to unleash it on the ships. He caught brief glimpses of the smoke drifting aside due to what he was doing, realizing that he wouldn't have as much time as he'd like.

Right before the smoke lifted completely, Clark unleashed the tornado with as much force as he could. It seemed to be moving in almost slow motion as he hovered in the air, watching the tornado moving in on the targets. One by one, the ships started to tumble over in the sky, knocking into each other like domino bricks. As they were being pushed further away from the valley, some of their weaponry began exploding which only increased the distance. Clark noticed that some ships began retreating before the tornado hit them, but the majority was being taken out by the tornado combined with the explosions.

In order to avoid any further damage to Qdeztra, Clark took off into the giant cloud of smoke surrounding the ships and used all his power to push them further away until they finally entered space. With one last forceful push, Clark managed to send the heap of ships back towards planet Xeneztra. He watched them floating away at a steady pace before he suddenly realized that he was beginning to lose altitude.

As he started falling back towards planet Qdeztra, Clark was struggling for air to no use. It all happened so fast that he barely had time to process it before his eyes fluttered shut and he kept falling at an alarming speed.

* * *

><p><strong>~ TO BE CONTINUED ~ <strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**~ CHAPTER 6 ~**

**A/N: **_Now, from what I've gathered, it seems that this story is getting its fair share of readers. Which is why I wanted to share it with you guys. But it would be nice to know if there's anything you particularly like about the story or something you don't fully agree with. I've already completed the story so not planning on re-writing anything but it would be good to hear from you readers a bit more; good or bad. Speak up, Clois fans! :)  
><em>

* * *

><p>Being a General's daughter, Lois had had excessive training in hand-to-hand combat starting at an early age. She'd trained with some of the toughest guys in the world during her childhood as an army brat, learning things that most people could never even imagine. But none of that was much of a comfort when running barefoot through the woods on an alien planet, chased by alien soldiers who could easily blow you to smithereens in the blink of an eye.<p>

They had been running for what felt like forever already and Lois could still hear the Xeneztrian soldiers closing in on them. She kept looking back over her shoulder every once in a while to make sure there was a fair amount of distance between them and the Xeneztrians. Apart from their head start the thick woods did supply them with some cover, making it harder for the Xeneztrians to track them, but also made it hard for Lois and Azandria to see where they were going.

Lois had already tripped over several roots, scratched arms and legs on bushes not to mention the pain she felt emanating from her feet. At this point she was pretty sure she was leaving behind bloody footprints which certainly only made it that much easier for the Xeneztrians. Lois kept a steady eye on Azandria running in front of her in the dimmed light while trying to think of a plan to get rid of their followers.

They most likely knew that Azandria was the Qdeztraian Princess, making her their main target and Lois collateral damage.

"Azandria," Lois hissed as quietly as possible while they kept running. "We need to hide fast! Do you know a place where they can't find us?"

"Follow me," Azandria whispered over her shoulder to Lois and turned off the beaten path they had been running along.

Lois quickly followed her without slowing down, although she felt like collapsing in the nearest bush from exhaustion at this point. She tried listening for sounds if the soldiers managed to follow them as they ran into a thick passage of bushes nearly as tall as trees, Lois feeling her skin being scraped by thorns as she made her way through them.

It was becoming darker with every leap they took and soon Lois could hardly see where she was going so she strained her eyes to keep track of Azandria's royal gown fluttering in the wind ahead of her.

"Please tell me we're nearly there," Lois muttered. "I haven't done this much running since breaking out of boot camp and at least then the guards were too lazy to keep up."

"You seem to live an exciting life, Lois," Azandria whispered. "I hope to hear more about it if we manage to survive."

"And here I thought you never worried about anything," Lois whispered, a tired smile spreading across her lips.

Azandria's laid back attitude had almost begun to get on her nerves but it was a relief to hear that even the princess had her moments of doubt.

"Normally I don't," Azandria whispered and stopped running, feeling Lois knocking into her from behind. "But after seeing what the Xeneztrians are capable of, I've grown more and more concerned for my people."

Lois opened her mouth to speak when Azandria abruptly grabbed her hand and pulled her into one of the thorn bushes. They stumbled down on their knees inside of the bush that were surprisingly a lot more spacious than it looked from the outside. When she finally got to rest for a minute, Lois felt the throbbing pain echoing throughout her body. But before she had a chance to complain about it, they both heard the sounds of running Xeneztrian soldiers getting closer.

The bushes rustled as they pushed through them, clearly not taking notice of the sharp thorns. Lois strained her eyes to try and make out the soldiers as they seemed to be passing by the hideout, but the darkness made it difficult to see anything clearly. Listening to the footsteps moving about outside the bush, Lois and Azandria both held their breaths while praying for the soldiers to give up the search and go away.

As if on cue, the footsteps suddenly stopped. Azandria quickly grabbed hold of Lois hand again, squeezing it tight, and Lois squeezed it back. After having to sit in the dark for a while, her eyes had adjusted to the murky light, and she could finally make out four pairs of boots standing in front of the bush. A distant rumble was suddenly heard throughout the woods, making Lois wonder what was going on over by the royal palace and if Clark was alright.

"We need to get back to the ship; General's orders."

Lois immediately turned her attention to the soldiers again, hardly believing what she'd just heard.

"Does he know that we're close to capturing the Princess?"

"He does. But apparently the rest of the fleet is returning to Xeneztra after admitting defeat, so our orders are to leave Qdeztra immediately."

The soldiers mumbled amongst themselves for a moment before agreeing to return back to their ship. Lois listened as they ran back through the bushes, their footsteps moving further and further away. Once she couldn't hear them anymore, she carefully stepped out from inside the bush. She waited for another minute or so before signaling for Azandria to come out as well.

"Okay, now that was some kind of miracle," Lois mumbled to herself before remembering that they still had to get back to the palace.

She motioned for Azandria to show the way once more and so they cut through the thick bushes, running through the woods until finding the path again. After following it for quite some again, Lois could finally see the palace appearing further ahead of them.

She also noticed that the sun was almost entirely blocked out by all the smoke in the sky. That feeling in the pit of her stomach grew stronger as they got closer to the palace; even overpowering the increasing pain that she thought was bad enough. But not knowing what could've happened to Clark was the worst kind of pain in the world for Lois.

* * *

><p>"Father!" Azandria cried out and threw her arms around King Azerteius without a second thought about proper royal etiquette.<p>

After being let into the palace by the guards outside, Azandria had shown the way to the downstairs hall where people sought refuge during a Xeneztrian attack. On their way there, Lois was hoping to find Clark amongst everyone else but at the same time she knew he was probably out looking for her.

"Azandria! Thank Heavens you're alright!" Azerteius exclaimed with a relived expression, embracing his daughter in a hug.

Lois watched the two from where she was standing and couldn't help but think of her own father and Lucy at that moment, the memory of them only adding to her already aching heart.

"If it weren't for Lois I would've most likely been taken by Xeneztrian soldiers," Azandria said, taking a step back from Azerteius and looking over at Lois with a grateful smile.

"I see that Kal-El has met his match after all," Azerteius said and bowed his head at Lois. "I'm forever in your debt, Lois Lane."

Lois forced on a modest smile, aware that everyone else in the hall stared at her in awe. The simple woman without any powers from an ordinary planet had suddenly saved the life of their Princess, earning herself the respect and gratitude of their King just as her superman husband would.

Lois normally wasn't one to shy away from any positive attention but for the moment all she wanted to do was to find Clark.

"King Azerteius, may I have a word with you?" Lois asked, using all of her remaining strength to maintain a steady voice.

King Azerteius and Azandria both walked over with Lois to the corner of the hall to get some privacy.

"What is it, Lois Lane?" Azerteius asked with a frown.

Lois leaned against the wall behind her, letting out an exhausted sigh before looking up at Azerteius.

"I'm aware the chaos the attack caused your people, but I need to know where…"

Lois trailed off for a moment, pushing back the anxiety bubbling up inside of her. Before she could finish the sentence, a loud bang echoed through the valley while the floor shook beneath everyone's feet. Their first thought was that the Xeneztrian army was back for another attack and took cover, while as Lois started running up the stairs towards the main gate.

The vibrations had ceased by the time Lois managed to talk her way past the guards, bursting out through the gates without any hesitation. As she'd made it out onto the hill, she saw a crater spreading out across the village.

"_Clark_," Lois whispered to herself while staring at the crater for a moment before she set off running down the hill.

Over the pounding in her ears she was oblivious to everything around her; all she focused on was getting to Clark as quickly as possible. She leaped over the debris in her way, somehow managing to pick up her pace until she'd reached the crater. She got down into the crater with trembling legs, trying to make out if Clark had any visible injuries.

Even though she knew that green Kryptonite was the only real threat to him, she still worried. But as she kneeled down beside him, barely keeping the tears at bay, she told herself not to abandon all hope just yet. She had after all seen Clark hurt before and this didn't look too severe compare to other times.

"Clark?" she whispered, gently caressing his cheek. "I hate to sound clingy, but please wake up."

Lois watched in silence as he lied motionless in front of her, waiting for him to open his eyes. She glanced up at the sky over her shoulder, noticing that the sun was still hiding behind all that smoke.

With a heavy sigh she turned her attention back Clark, feeling the first tear uncontrollably rolling down her cheek. She suddenly remembered to check for a pulse, extremely relieved to find one although it was weak. But Lois reminded herself of that the sun would heal him in no time once the smoke had cleared.

"We are so taking a vacation after this is over," she mumbled, forcing on a tired smile with tears now streaming down her face.

Feeling another rush of exhaustion sweeping over her, Lois slowly lay down on the ground next to Clark. Resting her head on his chest like so many other countless times before, she soon slipped off into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p><strong>~ TO BE CONTINUED ~ <strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**~ CHAPTER 7 ~  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Lois could hear someone calling out her name through the fogginess in her mind. The words just barely reached her but her eyes remained closed and she didn't have enough strength to open them. She also felt a hand gently touching her cheek, the warmth of it rushing through her body.<p>

Gradually, the surrounding sounds and scents became clearer to her until her eyes finally fluttered open. She instantly became aware of how much her body still ached just before she noticed Clark sitting by her side.

"Hey," she mumbled in a sleepy voice with a smile, relieved to see him alive and well.

"How are you feeling?" Clark asked, smiling back at her while stroking her face.

"Like I've just been run over by a train," Lois muttered and suddenly winced at the pain emanating from her feet.

She looked down to see them wrapped up in bandages.

"Or almost been blown apart by missiles," Clark sighed, the smile gone from his face.

Lois glanced over at him, recognizing the look of guilt all too well after all the years. She reached out and grabbed hold of his hand, squeezing it as hard as she could.

"You don't get to feel guilty about this, okay?" she said firmly. "You did what you were brought here to do; save the planet and their people from the Xeneztrian scum bags. There was no way of telling that they would strike sooner. And as you can see, I'm fine except for a pair of sour feet but that's what you get after running bare foot."

"But if only I'd–"

"Clark, _no_! I get that you have the nasty tendency of making everything seem your fault, but this was all the Xeneztrians' fault. They are the cause of this entire mess. Got it?"

Lois glared at Clark while still holding onto his hand until he finally nodded with a heavy sigh. He smiled at her before leaning over and gently kissing her on the forehead.

"Has anyone ever told you what an amazing wife you are?" he said.

"Oh, it's been a good twenty-four hours since that handsome husband of mine did," Lois said, her face lightning up with a big grin.

"Well then, sounds like he better make it up to you."

"Damn straight. And I know just the thing."

They both leaned forward towards each other, about to share a kiss, when Lois caught a glimpse of King Azerteius and Azandria in the doorway.

She abruptly leaned back in bed and cleared her throat loudly, so sure that she was blushing for once.

"Sorry to interrupt," Azerteius said as he walked into the room with Azandria following close behind. "But we wanted to make sure that Lois Lane was alright considering everything that's happened."

"I'm fine," Lois said with a weary smile, looking from Azerteius to Azandria. "But your concern is very touching."

"I owe you my life, Lois," Azandria said, smiling back.

"Oh, I think we're even by now."

Clark glanced at Lois, clearly wondering what she was talking about. But she plainly ignored him and focused on Azandria instead.

"Very well," Azandria said with a nod.

"I'm glad to see you're feeling fine, Lois Lane," King Azerteius said, gesturing for his daughter to exit the room. "So we are not going to disturb any longer. We'll see you again tomorrow."

Lois smiled politely at King Azerteius and Azandria before they turned around and gracefully walked out of the room, closing the door behind them.

Once they were gone, Clark turned his attention back to Lois with a serious look on his face.

"Did something happen out there today, Lois?"

"Yeah, Qdeztra was nearly nuked by the Xeneztrians."

"_Lois_. Why are you and Azandria now even?"

Lois looked at Clark in silence, debating with herself whether or not she should tell him about being brought back to life by Azandria. She knew all too well that he would somehow manage to blame himself for the whole thing and Lois didn't dare to think about how it would affect him long term.

"Look, when the missiles hit, all we had was each other. If it weren't for her, I would've never made it back to the palace in one piece. And I guess she feels like I saved her life when those soldiers were chasing us," she said.

Clark's serious expression was slowly replaced by a relieved expression, followed by an equally relieved smile. After everything they'd been through that day, he was happy to have Lois alive and well by his side.

"I bet those soldiers didn't stand a chance against you," he said.

"Believe me, I would've gladly kicked their asses but someone beat me to it," Lois said with a grin. "Someone with super strength, perhaps?"

"And yet I don't stand a chance against my own wife."

"I'd say it depends on the situation."

"Movie Night?"

"Hey, I can't help it that you have horrible taste in movies! It's standard procedure to watch slasher movies on Move Night and I intend–"

"I rest my case."

Lois quickly closed her mouth, smiling sweetly at Clark. She always managed to get carried away on certain topics such as Movie Night. Which he knew, therefore bringing it up every chance he got.

"Now, I do believe things were about to get interesting when we were so rudely interrupted," she murmured with a now mischievous smile.

"Well, what if Azerteius happens to walk in on us?"

"Oh, I'm sure I don't give a damn…"

* * *

><p>The following day began at the crack of dawn, much to Lois' dismay. While she was still on bed rest, Clark still had plenty to get done. He left early in the morning to assist the Qdeztraians in rebuilding the damaged parts of Qdeztra.<p>

Because of his powers, Clark proved to be a valuable help in restoring the people's homes and removing debris from the roads. The Qdeztraians began preparing the land for another harvest and communicating with the animals to calm them down, asking for their help as well.

Lois watched from up on the balcony of the royal palace as all the people worked together to get Qdeztra back to its former glory. The breathtaking valley below the palace consisted of scattered debris and most of the village houses had been blown to smithereens.

It pained Lois to see something that had been so peaceful and magnificent the previous morning, to now look like a war zone with hollow ruins.

"You are not supposed to be out here."

Lois turned her head to the side, realizing that Azandria was standing next to her out on the balcony. The princess looked down at the valley with a distant expression on her face.

Lois noticed that the cuts and bruises was almost entirely gone, Azandria restored to her glamorous self again complete with a new gown and a golden headband in her shimmering hair.

"Neither are you if I heard King Azerteius correctly," Lois said, turning her head to look down at the valley again.

"Father is in a meeting with his consultants," Azandria said. "He doesn't expect me to spend all day in my room when we have an injured guest that needs attending."

"Is he planning on retaliating against the Xeneztrians?" Lois asked.

"Father would never do such a thing. He still believes in peace. They are discussing our options of keeping Qdeztra safe once Kal-El returns to Earth."

"What do you think your options are? I mean, what's to stop King Diminstrius from sending another fleet of ship to destroy Qdeztra?"

"We received word from King Diminstrius earlier this day, asking for a peace treaty. Apparently his soldiers have filled his head with stories of how Kal-El singlehandedly defeated their mighty army. Now he's afraid that Father will send Kal-El to destroy Xeneztra."

"Sounds like Azerteius have everything under control."

The two women stood next to each other, staring out at the valley in silence for a while. Even though she wouldn't let it show, Lois figured that Azandria was still shaken up after the attack.

She cared a great deal for her people and most likely worried a lot more than she'd care to admit to anyone. But although Lois didn't know the first thing about being an Empath, she knew what lay underneath the surface.

"What's Earth like?" Azandria suddenly blurted out, still staring ahead.

"I think you'd like it, flaws and everything," Lois said.

"From what you've told me, I can imagine it's a beautiful planet just like Qdeztra."

"In some ways it is. But after coming here and seeing what your planet is like, it's gonna be kind of disappointing to return to Earth."

"With someone like Kal-El, how can Earth ever be disappointing?"

When hearing this, a smile spread across Lois' face. She looked as Clark helped the Qdeztraians clear the valley of debris, as well beginning to rebuild some of the homes.

"Life with Clark is certainly never disappointing," she said, still with a smile in place.

"That's good," Azandria said.

"It is," Lois murmured. "Some might even call it amazing."

* * *

><p>Lois twirled around one last time. The white gown danced along, landing softly against her bare legs. She admired her reflection in the mirror, a smile spreading across her face. After being pampered by King Azerteius' servants for the upcoming ceremony, Lois couldn't help but feel a bit like a princess.<p>

She certainly looked the part dressed in one of the royal gowns, completed with royal head wear and the royal bracelet she'd been given by Azandria earlier. Lois glanced down at the gleaming golden bracelet, the smile growing wider when realizing that the past few days had actually happened.

"You ready?"

Lois looked up at Clark, standing in the doorway smiling at her. After helping out the Qdeztraians with rebuilding the majority of Qdeztra, he'd managed to clean up pretty good. Although he'd refrained from wearing one of the royal robes, politely insisting on wearing the clothes he'd arrived in.

Lois' face lit up at the sight of him, forgetting all about the fancy bracelet and everything else.

"When have I ever not been?" she said. Clark raised an eyebrow, opening his mouth to speak, when Lois quickly shook her head. "Okay, scratch that."

"It's not every day a ceremony is being held in your honor," Clark said, still smiling.

Lois walked up him, gently caressing his cheek as if making sure he was actually there. The aftermath of the Xeneztrian attack was far from forgotten and the fear of possibly have lost Clark still lingered at the back of her mind, but Lois decided not to dwell on the bad and instead treasure every waken moment she had with him.

"As flattering as it is, I'm just happy to have you back," she murmured.

"You're not getting rid of me that easy," Clark said, taking her by the hand and together they started down the corridor towards the great hall where the ceremony would take place shortly.

Lois squeezed Clark's hand every now and then as they rounded corners, walked down the stairs and bumped into some of the servants on the way.

"Hey, how about we skip this thing and just get back home instead?" Lois whispered to Clark once they were one corridor away from the great hall.

She listened to the bustling sounds of people moving about, finishing the final preparations while the guests were being seated. She even managed to overhear King Azerteius giving out orders to his servants, probably from up high on his throne.

"Azerteius has arranged to have one of his travelers' take us back to Earth after the ceremony, which won't be that long I'm sure," Clark said, unable to hold back a smile.

"Let's hope so, because you know I'm no good at these kinds of things," Lois sighed and squeezed Clark's hand once more.

They had come to a stop at the end of the corridor, the great hall located just around the corner. Lois still felt hesitant despite having Clark by her side but before she could obsess any more about it, Azandria rounded the corner and coming towards them with the same serene smile Lois had grown accustomed to.

"Sounds like quite a party," Lois said, smiling nervously.

"Father enjoys his ceremonies," Azandria said. "I normally don't but this time the occasion certainly calls for a ceremony."

"And we're honored that you're going to such length in order to show your appreciation," Clark said with a polite smile, glancing sideways at his wife. "Aren't we, Lois?"

"Words can't even being to describe how I feel," Lois said as she managed to maintain a straight face while giving Clark a subtle glare.

"Actually," Azandria said. "There is something I'd like to talk to you about."

The tone in her voice caught Lois' attention. Although she hadn't known Azandria for more than a week, she saw a lot of Lucy in the princess. That was enough for Lois' big sister instincts to kick into gear.

"You two want some privacy?" Clark asked, clearing his throat nervously.

"This concerns you as well, Kal-El," Azandria said quickly, actually seeming to be nervous.

Something Lois didn't think Azandria was capable of unless they were under attack from the Xeneztrians. The princess was silent for a moment, apparently mustering up the courage before she spoke again.

"Lois made me realize that there's so much more out in the universe that I need to experience before becoming a leader to my people. I talked it over with Father and he granted me a year to explore outside of Qdeztra before I need to return."

"So, does this mean…?" Lois started to say, trailing off in the middle of the sentence with an expectant look on her face.

"That I'll be leaving Qdeztra today as well," Azandria finished.

"Any idea on where you're gonna go?" Clark asked.

"I've been told stories about a beautiful planet not unlike Qdeztra," Azandria said, glancing at Lois. "So I'm planning on making that my first stop."

Lois' face lit up with a grin when she realized what planet Azandria was talking about. She found herself strangely enough speechless and instead embraced Azandria in a sudden hug, leaving a puzzled Clark standing on the side wondering what was going on.

"So you're sure about this?" Lois asked as she took a step back, just barely managing to maintain her excitement.

"As sure as I've ever been about something," Azandria said. "Either way, it's time for me to start living my life as I see fit. At least until Father steps down from the throne."

"Wow," Lois murmured. "Talk about an epiphany."

She looked up at Clark, another grin spreading across her face.

"Think you're up for another roomie?" she asked him.

"Probably not," Clark said, smiling down at her. "But I wouldn't mind finding out."

* * *

><p><strong>~ NEXT UP: THE EPILOGUE! ~ <strong>


	8. Chapter 8: Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

**_3 Months Later_**

* * *

><p>Lois Lane was in a deep state of sleep, curled up underneath the covers in bed, having another dream about Qdeztra when the alarm clock went off. She reluctantly forced her eyes slightly open, squinting up at the alarm clock on the nightstand before pulling the covers up over her head, hoping to escape reality and return to her dream again.<p>

"Good morning sunshine," Clark said with a teasing smile from where he stood in the doorway, taking a sip from his hot cup of morning coffee.

Out of habit, he'd gotten up hours earlier to get all the chores done around the Kent farm. Despite spending so many years at the farm, Lois still wasn't one to do chores, especially not when her husband had superpowers that allowed him to do all the work without breaking a sweat.

So while he was outside working in the early morning, Lois lingered in bed for as long as possible. That is, until the ever so devious alarm clock had the audacity to wake her up.

"Why did I ever let you talk me into bringing that Godforsaken thing?" Lois said from underneath the covers, muffled from burrowing her face in the pillow.

"Come on, it's not _that_ bad," Clark said, the smile on his face growing wider.

Lois abruptly threw aside the covers, turning around in bed towards Clark and glaring at him.

"Just because you're used to getting up at the crack of dawn doesn't mean I have to be!" she muttered, reaching out and turning off the alarm while still glaring at Clark.

"Lois, it's almost noon," he said, taking another sip of coffee.

"Well, since I had to take the car all the way out here from _The Planet_, I got in pretty late. And believe it or not; I need my beauty sleep," Lois said as she reluctantly dragged herself out of bed, putting on her robe.

"Now we both know that's not true," Clark said as Lois walked up to him and grabbed hold of the cup, taking a gulp of coffee.

A mischievous smile soon spread across her face.

"Yeah I know, but it's always nice to hear that you still got it," she murmured, slinking past Clark out the doorway with his cup of coffee.

He slowly shook his head, a grin on his face, before following Lois down the stairs.

"So, what's on the agenda today?" he asked as they walked into the kitchen. Lois put down the now empty coffee cup on the counter.

"Today is my day off, remember?" she said with her back against Clark as she began scavenging the refrigerator, unsure of what to have for breakfast since she usually survived on coffee and dough nuts during the workday until dinnertime.

"Which normally mean staying in and just taking it easy. But you don't do that," Clark teased, leaning against the counter and watching as Lois prepared to make another one of her famous peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

"Hey, if you wanted Martha Stewart, you married the wrong girl," Lois said while munching on some peanut butter straight out of the jar. "Besides, Azandria is staying in Metropolis with Luce until dinner tonight, so I guess I'll try and get started on that book I bought last year."

"Really?" Clark said, unable to mask the look on surprise appearing on his face.

Lois' book collection just barely covered one whole shelf in the bookcase and the only times Clark had ever seen her reading anything, it certainly hadn't been a book but rather a gossip magazine or the latest issue of _The Daily Planet_ in order to make sure nothing had been misprinted.

"Yeah, why not?" Lois said, looking up at Clark just in time to see his surprised expression before he replaced it with an innocent smile. "You don't think I'm capable of just taking it easy and reading a book on my first day off in over a month?"

"_Well_," Clark said, dragging out the word while trying to think of an appropriate answer.

"Fine!" Lois snapped, sticking a spoonful of peanut butter in her mouth. "While you're off roaming the Earth today, I'll be curled up in the sofa reading a book. How's that for normalcy?"

Lois' words were somewhat muffled as she chewed on the peanut butter at the same time and despite her obvious annoyance, Clark couldn't resist leaning across the counter and giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Sounds perfectly normal," he said. "But then again, why want normalcy when you have the kind of life we do?"

Lois' look of annoyance disappeared the moment Clark gently kissed her. She smiled back at him, knowing that staying indoors reading a boring book wasn't at all what she felt like doing on her day off.

"You got any other suggestions?" she said with a coy smile, putting down the peanut butter jar and leaned against the counter, their faces inches apart.

"I can think of a few," Clark smiled and they leaned in closer for a kiss.

The sudden knock on the front door barely registered with Lois but as she spotted her cousin walking into the living room the next second, she abruptly pulled away from Clark.

"_Chloe_?" she cried out in shock, a wide grin spreading across her face.

Before Chloe could get a word out, Lois ran over and threw her arms around her tightly.

"Sorry we're early but we had some business to take care of in Metropolis that didn't take as long as we'd thought," Oliver explained as he stepped out from behind Chloe with a grin on his face.

"Lo, it's not that I'm not glad to see you, but I'm about to suffocate!" Chloe said, just barely finding enough air to get the sentence out since Lois squeezed her pretty tight.

"Sorry," Lois grinned as she abruptly let go of her cousin, embracing Oliver in a hug and giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Something tells me maybe we should've called first?" Oliver said while eying Lois up and down dressed in her robe with a mischievous grin.

"Take your mind out of the gutter, Queen!" Lois said and swatted him, unable to hold back a grin herself. Oliver shrugged innocently and winked at her.

"Nice to see some things never change," Clark said with a mildly amused smile as he walked over to great Chloe and Oliver.

"Yeah, not even the things you want to," Chloe sighed, rolling her eyes at Oliver before embracing Clark in a hug.

It had already been far too many weeks since she'd last seen Clark and Lois. Their impromptu visit to Qdeztra had lasted for nearly a week in Earth time, practically driving Chloe crazy trying to locate them all that time. Once they had finally reappeared out of nowhere together with Azandria, the old investigative reporter in Chloe had resurfaced and instantly begun bombarding them with questions about where they've been.

Despite growing up in Smallville and having Clark Kent as a best friend, even Chloe had had a hard time wrapping her head around Qdeztra at first. In the weeks that followed she'd thought of more questions that needed further explaining; something Clark was patient enough to do unlike Lois who had pretty quickly recused herself of any explanations.

"You guys want some breakfast?" Lois called out as she head into the kitchen before the others, planning on resuming work on her peanut butter sandwich.

Oliver and Chloe walked with Clark through the living room towards the kitchen, exchanging looks.

"Lo, it's past noon. Breakfast happened about six hours ago for us," Chloe said as they entered the kitchen. "Lunch however sounds pretty good right about now."

"I worked overtime last night, getting in late; hence why this is _breakfast time_ for me," Lois muttered as she swiftly put on some peanut butter on the bread slice before putting the peanut butter jar back in the refrigerator.

"_Really_?" Oliver said, raising an eyebrow, another mischievous grin on his lips.

Almost instinctively, Chloe reached out and elbowed him in the side without taking her eyes off of Lois, smiling awkwardly.

"I'm in desperate need of coffee," she spoke up and made her way around the counter to the coffeemaker. "Anybody else want some?"

Oliver nodded in silence, grimacing as he recovered from the elbowing. Clark, trying to contain a smirk in regards of Oliver's misfortune, gave Chloe a subtle nod. He walked around the counter over to Lois who was halfway through her sandwich already.

"You know I'm like a zombie without my morning dose of caffeine," Lois said in between bites to Chloe, feeling Clark wrapping his arm around her waist.

She inwardly grunted, wishing that Oliver and Chloe could've at least taken their time arriving at the farm. Between her job at _The Daily Planet_ and Clark being Superman, there wasn't much time left for the couple to spend together. The past week had mostly consisted of dinner together at the apartment in Metropolis and possibly some snuggling if she was lucky, which wasn't often enough.

"You psyched about tonight, Lois?" Chloe asked and turned on the coffeemaker, turning around facing Lois and Clark.

"You better believe it!" Lois grinned, finishing off her sandwich. "There's nothing better than having a dinner party for your closest family and friends after a grueling week of work. And I know for a fact that Azandria is looking forward the opportunity to learn more about our customs."

"So she's recovered from last time?" Chloe asked with an amused smile.

"Okay, admittedly, it could've gone a lot smoother but what do you expect with The General sitting at the same table as an alien princess?" Lois said and everyone stared at each other in silence for a moment, before breaking out in unanimous laughter.

The first dinner party Lois had hosted after returning to Earth with Azandria was supposed to properly introduce her to their family and friends, as well provide her some knowledge of Earth society. Needless to say, the evening hadn't gone according to plan.

"Well, fingers crossed that tonight goes a whole lot better," Oliver grinned once the laughter had died down.

"Oh, it can hardly get any worse," Chloe said, stifling a yawn. "Actually, I think we're gonna go and check out the guest room while that coffee is getting ready."

She embraced both Lois and Clark in a quick hug before making her way up the stairs with Oliver in tow, carrying their luggage.

"I guess that book is gonna have to wait," Clark said once they were left alone downstairs.

Lois tried glaring at him for teasing but a grin spread across her face instead. She pulled him in close and kissed him as if they hadn't seen each other in ages.

"Doesn't matter," she murmured. "It wasn't even that good anyway."

* * *

><p>The hours leading up to the evening's dinner party was spent on the Kent farm; mostly at the dinner table emptying out the coffee supply while doing some catching up and trips down the memory lane. There was even time for a movie marathon, as well as a game of basketball which ended with the guys winning. When the evening came around, Lois didn't want for the day to end. She'd convinced Chloe and Oliver to stay the entire weekend but she knew she would be feeling just as sad on Sunday when they left.<p>

"Everything okay?" Clark asked as he came back into the kitchen after setting the table.

Lois finished chopping the vegetables before she looked up at him, unable to mask the sadness she was feeling.

"Everything's great," she said, managing a tiny smile, and poured down the vegetables in the boiling saucepan.

"Then what's with the face?"

"Because in a couple days Chloe will be back in Brazil and I'll be back at _The Planet_, working my ass off as usual, which means I probably won't be seeing any of my family until the holidays."

"Lois, it's–"

"Life. Plain and simple. I know that. But sometimes I really want there to be more hours in a day; especially in a day like this," Lois said, taking off her apron. "Look, I know I have an amazing life all around. And I feel blessed waking up to you every morning. But there are times when I wish we all weren't in such a rush to get through life."

"Then how about we follow Azandria's advice and try to slow down?" Clark said. "There still will be situations where rushing is required, and that's hero business aside, but I'm all for taking it easy when possible."

This time Lois' face lit up with a genuine smile as she walked around the counter over to Clark, putting her arms around his neck and gazed into his eyes.

"I married the greatest farm boy in the world," she murmured, gently kissing him. "And sorry about the melodrama. I think we both know I'm incapable of taking it easy… even on my days off. But I'll do my best and try from now on if it means spending more time with my husband."

"Does that mean you'll up for another cooking lesson?" Clark grinned.

Lois gave him another gentle kiss, just barely touching his lips before taking a step back.

"Considering how the first one ended, I think I'll happily let you do _all_ the cooking in the future," she said with a mischievous look as she began walking away from him, heading upstairs to see Chloe.

Just as she was going up the second flight of stairs, she bumped into Oliver who was on his way down.

"Let me guess; you're looking for Chloe?" he asked.

"Uh huh. You looking for Clark?"

"Yup. Kitchen?"

"Thankfully, yes. Guest room?"

"Along with her trusted computer."

They exchanged smiles as they stepped around each other and continued in opposite directions. Lois walked down the hallway to where Martha and Jonathan's bedroom used to be; which was now the guest room.

After a much needed makeover of the upstairs, Clark's old childhood bedroom had turned into the new master bedroom thanks to some new wallpaper and a king sized bed. Neither of them had wanted to inherit his parents' bedroom for various reasons, so they'd decided to let it become the guest room instead.

"Hey, Chlo," Lois said as she stepped into the guest room, finding her cousin sitting cross legged on top of the bed with the computer in her lap.

"Hey, Lo," Chloe said, just barely looking away from the screen as Lois walked over and sat down on the bed next to her. "Just let me finish this one thing and I'm all yours!"

Lois watched as Chloe started typing away on the laptop, before glancing around the redecorated guest room. She recalled when Martha had seen the room for the first time since the remodeling and although she had liked it, a part of Lois still felt somewhat guilty for erasing the last trace of Clark's parents from the house. This wasn't how Clark looked at it and was always quick to remind Lois that it had been a mutual decision.

"Done!" Chloe exclaimed with a satisfied smile on her face as she put aside the laptop.

"Leave it to you to always bring work with you," Lois teased, earning herself a pointed stare from her cousin.

"Oh, and you never bring along your Palm Pilot to check on work?"

"Okay, so maybe we're both cursed with the workaholic gene."

"Afraid so. But then it could be worse; at least we're not chained to our desks."

"Good point. I'll much rather be married to the world's greatest superhero."

The two cousins looked at each other in momentarily silence before bursting out in laughter on the bed. It felt just like the good old times; like when Chloe had lived with the Lanes during the summer or when the cousins had shared the apartment above _The Talon_. Although they had over the years been geographically far apart, their friendship was as strong as ever.

"I mean, could you imagine in your wildest dreams that we would be sitting here as married women on the Kent farm?" Lois said as the laughter died down.

"I don't remember really imaging being married at all," Chloe said. "I mean, there was the epic crush I had on Clark back in the day, but nothing that involved marriage. But then again other things I was so sure of didn't work out the way I'd hoped."

"Ditto. I mean; Lois Lane as a newspaper reporter? Yeah right! I always thought I would have some other equally exciting job that didn't involve any spell check."

"You as a reporter didn't come as such a big surprise. You falling head over heels for Clark Kent kinda did... at first."

At the mentioning of Clark, Lois glanced down at her wedding ring. She'd been wearing it for over five years, now considering a part of herself.

"Not a day goes by that I'm not surprised by the fact that I married Clark Kent of all people," she murmured with a nostalgic smile on her face as she looked up at Chloe. "And I would do it again in a heartbeat."

Chloe smiled back at her, grabbing hold of her cousin's hand and squeezing it hard.

"You know, we've been through a lot over the years," she started. "Not to mention the stuff Clark and I encountered together in Smallville. So I've had the pleasure of knowing you guys separately and as a couple. And even though I'm ridiculously happy with Ollie, I gotta admit a tiny part of me will always be a bit jealous of what you and Clark have."

"And we of you and Ollie," Lois said and the two cousins hugged.

"So let's just say we both have awesome lives with awesome husbands?" Chloe said.

"Let's," Lois said in agreement.

* * *

><p>Lois watched in amusement as Azandria put the dishes into the dishwasher. The Princess didn't mind doing chores whenever she visited the Kent farm, claiming it was the perfect opportunity to experience the life of an ordinary Earthling. Something Lois was more than happy to show Azandria, especially since considering that her list of chores diminished rather quickly that way.<p>

"So, did you have fun tonight?" Lois asked while she put away the leftovers into the refrigerator. "I mean, it must've been better than last time at least now that my dad isn't here to bombard you with questions."

"Oh, I don't mind your father, Lois," Azandria said politely, putting the last plate into the dishwasher. "I understand his curiosity; I see where you get yours from."

"And here I thought I got it from my mom," Lois said, glancing over her shoulder at the dinner table where Clark and Martha was doing some catching up.

"I imagine you've got a little from both," Azandria said, turning on the dishwasher with a delighted smile.

Lois gave her a quick pat on the shoulder, smiling along as well.

"By the way, how are things over at Met U? I seriously hope Lucy is taking care of you," she said as the two women slowly made their way back towards the dinner table.

"There's no need to worry, Lois," Azandria smiled. "Your sister is being a great deal of help whenever I have any questions at all."

"Well, I guess I have to take your word for it," Lois said as they stepped back into the dining area.

Her eyes unknowingly wandered over to Lucy, who looked up from her cell phone with a paranoid facial expression.

"What?" she blurted out, staring back at Lois in silence.

"Oh, nothing," Lois said with a shrug. "I was just… admiring your new cell phone."

"I've had it for almost a year," Lucy said, giving her sister a disbelieving look.

"Really? Huh, it looks new to me," Lois said with an innocent smile as she walked over to where Clark and Martha was seated.

"Lois, dinner was amazing!" Martha said with her usual friendly smile.

"Thanks, Mrs. Kent, but I think we both know who's to thank for that," Lois smiled back at her, glancing down at Clark.

Chloe suddenly got up out of her seat with a glass of wine in her hand, loudly clearing her throat to get everyone's attention. Lois and Clark stopped staring at each other, instead looking over at their friend and cousin.

"Now, I know this is just another little cozy dinner party," Chloe started. "And it certainly won't be the last. But I found it fitting to say what I have to say this particular evening."

There was a brief pause and Lois slowly sat down in Clark's lap, staring at her cousin in slight confusion.

"For those of us who have been around since the beginning to see Lois and Clark evolve into this ridiculously perfect couple, the journey has been… interesting, to say the least. We all know life almost never works out the way you'd hoped for. There's a million ways of how your future will end up being. And yet somehow, I always knew that Lois would find this amazing guy who'd do anything for her. Same as I knew that Clark's soul mate would be a force to be reckoned with. And, at the risk of sounding totally mushy, I now know that their love will exceed time and space."

Chloe raised her glass, the others doing the same. Lois and Clark watched in awe as their dinner guests toasted their blissful happiness. After all this time, Lois' dreams had finally come true. She had a man to share her life with. And a love that was timeless.

* * *

><p><strong>~ THE END ~ <strong>

**_(Check out my profile for news regarding my upcoming Lois Lane fan fiction!)_**


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